War Without End
by lyrainthedark
Summary: Erased from death, returned to his former existence, Light's life is once again in Ryuk's hands...but for how long? Is the world ready for the second coming of its new God? A bargain - a bet...and anything can happen.Rating may go up for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I.

The Third Day

* * *

_After a few days of boredom - and because he could - when the fuss had begun to die down in the human world, Ryuk did the only thing he could think of._

_The eraser was hard and cold, a little uncomfortable in his hand. To be expected; it was anti-death, and he was a shinigami. _

_Slowly, deliberately, carefully, he rubbed out the characters, one after another. _

Y-a-g-a-m-i...L-i-g-h-t.

_He smiled. A voice came from over his shoulder, but he didn't even bother turning around._

"Again, Ryuk? Gonna get yourself in trouble! Why bother?"

_The light of the portal swallowed him as he leapt forwards, flowed downwards and deposited him in a city. Humans, everywhere - ah, the sounds - the smells! He turned his face upwards, spoke to the shinigami who had questioned him, who could not see him now, anyway._

"Because…it's interesting!"

* * *

In the darkness and cold of the morgue, Yagami Light woke suddenly and completely from his death. There was no moment of detachment, no slow descending into the stiff flesh so abruptly abandoned; only - _**life**_**! **Sudden, sharp. His senses returned in a rush, all of them at once; he knew immediately, abruptly, where he was.

For the third time in his experience, he felt terror, a black-out of sensation, his awareness confined to the origin of his fear, the impossibility -

_I was dead._

Fact. Yes. He knew, he remembered it, the conversation, the madness, the sudden feeling, the pain - stop.

_Or was it - hallucination? _

No.

Fact. He had seen the notebook, his name, Ryuk's hand, moving - the letters, English characters, one after another.

_He wrote my name. I was dead. _

He accepted the fact, registered it, felt his mind beginning to become solid, beginning to come back to him.

_I am alive._

Also fact. Interesting - impossible, but, then again, obviously not. Impossible was the hypothesis, and he felt it had been sufficiently disproved, since -

_I am in a morgue._..

He twitched his toe, felt the string there, knew that if it were possible for him to sit up, he would find his own name on the tag attached to it.

Yes. A third fact. But this last fact was more disturbing even than the first one, because his continued life depended on getting out of this box, quickly - on escaping detection from Near and his co -

No.

_It didn't work the first time, and I won't be a fool and try the same plan again. I've just come back from the dead. Surely it was publicized, made known to the people…all my people. So I will let them know of my rebirth._

Yes. He could do that - publicly, quite publicly. There were elements always ready to grab any sort of scandal, always ready to do the bidding of someone with power.

_And I have power. Because regardless of anything else, there is always Misa and the contingency plan. She was too devoted to me not to have followed through after my death. It wasn't that complicated…_

Carefully, keeping his breathing low, steady, he went over every step of the plan. Yes. She could do it. Would do it. Yes. To be a living god had been his aim; now that he was in possession of life again, it was once again possible. But - he had always known that one day, being human, he would die. It was irritating, an uncomfortable thought that occasionally nagged at him, when he remembered Ryuk's words -

_Neither heaven nor hell!_

So he had planned, the way he had planned for everything. It had been the only thing that Misa had actually made easier for him - her obsessive love, her devotion, ensured that she would continue his work, his name, in whatever way possible. If he must die, so be it - but at the very least, he had ensured that he would never be forgotten.

_Kira will live forever..._

Faintly, he heard a noise from outside his cold, silent box, and shut down his thoughts, focused his attention on the tiny sound.

_A person. How humiliating, that I have to do something like this... _

Best not to think about it.

He took a deep breath, and screamed as loud as he could. Immediately afterward, he heard a huge clatter from outside; metal instruments, medical, probably, tumbling to the floor. He also heard, distinctly, a gasp, an indrawn breath, and then footsteps running in.

_Two of them. Hmm…_

He banged as much as he could on the inside of his box; the walls were cold to the touch and the sound echoed faintly. He heard low voices approach, hands, undoing clasps, locks, maybe - and then there was light. The voices continued.

"It couldn't be - there's no way -"

"They said this guy was Lord Kira, you heard me, - all whispering, and stuff, you know, like they didn't want anyone to know - and - "

Lord_ Kira, hmm? Already, fortune favors me. But...not wanting anyone to know...did you think you could cover it up, Near?  
_

"And _where_ did you hear that, is what I'm saying - "

There was a grinding sensation, a sound of metal-on-metal, of moving parts in need of oil, but not quite to the point of squealing. As he slid out into the more open space of the cold room, the lights were intensely bright, but Light fought to keep from blinking, tearing; he closed his eyes calmly, and tried to sit up. He was instantly successful.

_Apparently being dead has not harmed my physical well being._

"Lord Kira! I knew you couldn't really be killed - "

'I already told you, this guy is - "

Light focused intently on the doubting man's name badge, while he pretended to shield his face from the lights. He flicked his eyes up to the man's face, and when he spoke it was as if he had known his name all along.

"Your friend is quite correct…Izumi-san."

For a moment, he saw a flicker of fear - that was more than enough. His power was still secure - more secure, once he accomplished his first objective.

_Can't have been too long, then. _

Immediately after the fear, there was bravado, the many _what-if's_ that must be playing through this man's mind taking over.

"You - you're just a kid, really - "

"Come now; I'm a _young_ man, but I'm definitely a man. And I _am _Kira."

As if on cue, he felt something touch his hand, hard, sharp corners - too sharp, the edges of something that did not truly belong in this world. He closed his eyes for a moment, heard a sharp gasp from in front of him and blinked them back open. They wouldn't be able to see, so why -

_Ah. Of course. To them it must look as if the Death Note appeared out of thin air…and in a way, I suppose it did. _

It would be wrong, though, to say that he had not expected it. There was really only one motivator, and one motivation he could see for his resurrection.

_Not that I'm the least displeased. Better the devil you know..._

He turned slightly to the left, smiled his most slashing smile.

"Hello, Ryuk. Was it really that boring without me?"

"Yo, Light. Hurry up and get yourself out of here, before I change my mind about bringing you back. I want an apple."

"Sure thing, Ryuk…but first -"

The two men, Izumi and the other, the one who was a supporter, were staring at him as if he had lost his mind. Quickly, his fingers lithe, he snatched a pen from Izumi's pocket, flashed through Ryuk's notebook until he came to a blank space. With careless strokes he filled in the names, waited. Izumi died in exactly forty seconds; Light took a step forward, and knelt by the other man - Lin Takari, the name-card said.

"Takari, you, like this man, are a sacrifice in the name of God. I have the power to save you, but you will be my servant, obey my every will."

_For a little while…_

Light watched the man's eyes travel to the dead body of his friend; unfortunate, that, but necessary - he had seen the notebook, in Light's own hands, no less. He saw the decision he had expected take shape in Takari's eyes.

"Kira-dono, I will willingly serve you. You don't know how many horrible things I have seen, how many bodies of people that shouldn't have died - woman, children - "

His presence suddenly dominating, compelling, masterful, Light stood and stared down at Takari. His eyes were burning coals in a dark face.

"I do know, Takari. Kira knows all the sins of this world…and all the sinners."

"Kira-dono -"

Takari fell forward from his knees so that he was on all fours. Light remained still, accepting the homage that he was due, the very image of a god.

* * *

"Ah, you're not even taking a break to celebrate your own personal miracle?"

_Ryuk hovered briefly, planted himself so he could look over Light's shoulder._

"Ryuk, you and I both know the reason why you brought me back…although I would be _very _interested to know how you did it."

"I didn't tell you 'bout the Eraser? Sorry, Light; no promises, you know? I told you that in the beginning! Nothing's changed, you know."

"I know."

_It would be worth it, to lose his own Death Note for a while…he had plenty of years stored up, unlike some __other lazy fools. And if he found the other one - one of these days, he'd have them both back again. Could be…useful._

_He watched Light dominate Takari, his charismatic presence as overwhelming as always - for a human, Light sure was creepy. He had just been dead, and here he was picking up right where he left off._

"Any second thoughts, Light?"

_And he could tell, though Light said nothing, what his answer was - by the darkness of his face, by the old, familiar smile._

"Didn't think so. Hey - you're only borrowing my notebook, though, Light - remember that. You better find your own pretty fast -

"Enough for now; we'll talk later._"_

_"_Hey! I'm a shinigami, you know. Always dismissing me so lightly -"

"Takari, help me first by getting in touch with the people currently in charge of Sakura Television. Tell them…tell them you have a story that they definitely won't want to miss."

"Oh! You don't want him to know I'm here? Or do you think this human will think you're crazy, Light?"

_Light had perfected his technique for double-talk and ignoring the shinigami long before. Ryuk could see in his face which answers were meant for him, and which were for the human._

"Should I go immediately, Kira-dono, or wait until I have finished my shift here?"

"Wait. Draw no attention to yourself. In fifteen days, you will die, Lin Takari - but until then, you are the messenger of my New World."

Ryuk saw awe, wonder, resignation, joy, humility - a lovely mixture of emotions, all flowing around together on this Takari's face.

"Fifteen...fifteen days, Kira-dono. Such a gift..."

"Hu! Light, you're killing this guy and he just thanked you for the gift of his remaining time! What do you feel about that?"

"It's...nothing at all. Nothing at all, Takari."

The man almost scrambled out of the room, and Light turned to face him, the dominating persona fading away.

"So, Ryuk...changed your mind?"

_This human!_

_"_You could say that."

_I was right!_

"Sure. And you know, Ryuk...you really helped me out, there."

"Huh? I killed you, Light, remember? I wrote your name."

"Yes, but it isn't in there now. I checked when I wrote down that Izumi's name. So...is there something you want to tell me, Ryuk?"

_ Maybe this will be more interesting than before!_

_Ryuk grinned._

_

* * *

_A/N: Ahh, this makes nine, you know. I'm going to kill myself with words, I just know it. Anyway, this is because the end of death note pissed me off ROYALLY...and so, I present _my_ version of the end...or, well, a continuation after the end. This chapter begins only three days after Light has been killed, so if you've read the manga that means pretty much disregard the last...two chapters? ya? Anyway, more soon! Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

II.

Believers

* * *

In a dark corner of her bedroom, Misa sat on the floor before an altar, bowed her head and lit incense. There was a low hum of noise and light from the television at the other end of the room, but the ceiling light was off; the details beyond the candle flame on the altar were lost in shadow; all the blinds had been drawn against the sun outside.

Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were swollen and red; she had been crying, off and on, for the last three days - since the news had come to her of Light's death, since Kira had retreated from the face of the earth.

Three days, and no one had died unexpectedly; most people probably hadn't even noticed yet, but Misa was very thorough, watching the news with fiery eyes and waiting for the criminals broadcast there to be punished. She was worried; nothing had happened, and she had once been carefully instructed about what should be done if such a thing happened....specifically, if Kira were to be killed by the vicious, useless law men who pursued him.

She was not sure that Kira was definitely dead; there had been no announcement, no declaration of victory by the world-wide association that had made it their business to report on all of Kira's actions.

Misa was no genius, even she could tell that something was being hidden; that the faithful of Kira were doomed never to know what had happened to their lord.

_I won't let it happen! I've lost Light, I won't lose Kira too!_

She dragged herself up from the floor and stood in the middle of her bedroom, looking around. Clothes were scattered here and there, the bed was mussed and unmade; the sleeve of an old shirt of Light's was visible between the folded covers.

When they had come to tell her the news - Matsuda and the others - there had been something terribly false, almost...gloating, about their feigned grief. Light was killed by Kira, they told her - her darling, beautiful Light.

When the first wave of screaming tears had tired her out, and they had all left her alone again with empty condolences, Misa had sat up in her bed, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, and stared at the blank wall across from her for hours.

How could it be? Her Light, handsome, noble, strong; why would someone like him be killed by Lord Kira? Someone who had never done anything wrong in their whole life; someone so good, someone with all the right intentions.

_Lord Kira would never do that!_

She found herself standing straight as a steel rod, her fists tightly clenched, her eyes full of anger.

_Lord Kira would _never_ do that! He only kills evil people!_

She was well aware that numerous police had supposedly died at Kira's hands, but then there had been all the talk about a second Kira - _she_ had even been suspected of it, before Ryuzaki wised up. As if she was someone who could be used by Kira! If only!

_But - there is one thing I can do -_

She had talked about it before; she couldn't remember with who, but the conversation was clear in her head, like a tape-recorded message playing, crisp, sharp.

"_Kira should be remembered, even if he doesn't succeed; Kira must become a god that can succor the needy, the unfortunate, the oppressed; a god who the weak can call upon for vengeance, when they are wronged! You could do that for him, Misa."_

"_But how would I make Kira a god? Misa is not very smart, and it would probably be very hard to do."_

"_Don't be silly, Misa. There are millions of people who worship Kira already; you could be their high priestess, leading them in the way of Kira. You talk about how much you love him all the time, and you're beautiful, famous, popular; you'd be the perfect person."_

Who had it been that she'd talked with, had that conversation with? She'd been so pleased he thought she was beautiful....

Thinking about it made her head hurt, and she sighed, relaxed from her stiff posture and took a step over to collapse on the edge of the bed. What could she do? What could she do? How to start?

The low buzz of the television suddenly climbed an octave and was loud enough to pull her eyes up from the blank spot on the wall where she had been staring.

The TV screen was glowing fluorescent purple; laid over the brilliant color were dark blue characters; "The Faithful Call Out To Lord Kira!"

_The faithful. _

She blinked.

"_...millions of people who worship Kira already..."_

In another moment she had grabbed her jacket and run out the door. The door to her apartment banged open again behind her, but she didn't stop.

_The faithful._

She knew exactly what she had to do.

* * *

The men in charge of Sakura Television had no idea what to say when Misa showed up in their midst; she had entered quietly through the back door while the guard was on cigarette break; they had no warning whatsoever. The broadcast of Kira's Faithful was audible throughout the studio, and she seemed to fit with it perfectly; she was wearing a long, hooded white robe and her blond hair was down. She looked like a tragic angel, smiling but with eyes red-rimmed from crying, and she did not speak until she had the attention of everyone on the production floor.

"My name is Misa Amane. Kira himself requested that in the event of his death, I should do this; I saw your broadcast and came right away."

She had thought it through carefully; this was the best way to get them to listen to her, to agree; while she was buying the robe and walking here, she had tried out a hundred different greetings in her head.

_And I can't remember - I can't remember who told me to do this. It makes my head hurt and I get dizzy. So maybe - maybe it is true! Oh, if Misa had met Kira, that would be the best thing ever! _

At the very least, she _definitely_ had their attention now! Even the man who was broadcasting the show was looking at her.

"Misa Amane! And you say Kira himself!"

There was a glitter of greed in the eyes of the production manager; there were ratings in that glitter, an endless, infinite spike in ratings!

"Ichiro! Tetsu! Get her powdered and ready for the camera in five minutes, you hear me!"

The two men in question immediately took hold of Misa's arms and dragged her off towards the makeup room. The production manager called over his shoulder towards the camera crews.

"Cut for commercial - cut now, do you hear me! Yes! Now!"

And then he was off following Misa.

"So, do you know what you're going to say to the people, Misa?"

"Yes, I know what to say. Oh - I'm going to invite all the followers of Kira to meet with me tonight at sunset; you should probably know that."

"Oh! Yes, that's a wonderful idea! Viewer participation!"

He looked almost feverish.

"Umm...Mister Producer, are you alright? Because if Misa gets sick then there's no High Priestess of Kira."

"What? Yes, yes, I'm fine! Why would you ask that?"

There was a sudden and furious spasm of powder, hairspray, lipstick, and an equally furious spasm of Misa beating them off.

"No, no, no! The High Priestess of Kira is going natural; that is how it should be. Oh - except the sheer powder, yes, so my face isn't shiny."

Misa stood, pushing back the hands of the men who had been told to groom her for the camera, and looked up expectantly at the production manager.

"Am I going on now?"

"Yes, yes, right away. Go get set in front of the camera and I'll wrap up the commercial break -"

He strode briskly away from her, and one of the men, Tetsu, bowed shortly and led her forward.

"I just have to know, Amane-san - are you really the Chosen of Kira?"

She nodded, distracted by the cameras.

"I knew it! I knew Lord Kira would come forward eventually! I'll be at your sunset meeting, Amane-san!""

Misa spread her robe carefully and adjusted her hood until the cameraman gave her a thumbs-up.

"You should get off the screen now, Tetsu-san. Listen to the broadcast, if you really want to come."

There was a silent _three-two-one _countdown, and then the red record-and-broadcast lights came on, and Misa smiled sweetly for the camera.

The production manager, watching her from the other room, was at first pleased, and then awed. It was a fantastic performance!

"_Thank you, all who are watching this broadcast. In order to truly express the purpose of this show, I, Misa Amane, the High Priestess of Kira, will hold a candlelight vigil tonight, at the beach, which is approximately fifteen minutes from the headquarters of Sakura Television. Any and all who support Lord Kira, his great mission, and the New World of Peace are welcome to come. If you can, bring a candle, and wear white. We, the followers of Kira, should express our purity in this world that has been forsaken by everyone but Lord Kira. If we call out to him, he will surely return! He will punish the wicked, the evil, and good, honest souls will be able to live a just life! _

The phone lines in the station were suddenly ringing off the hook; the email and text monitors sat back from their screens, suddenly wordless, as message after message poured in. The screen counters were resetting themselves in the hundreds, and then in the thousands - and some of the email messages were from global monitors, asking if the broadcast was real. The Chosen of Kira, they were saying -

_The Chosen of Kira! _

"Someone, find me the address and bus routes, subway routes, train routes - anything to get to that beach she's talking about! Then get it on cards and flash it up on the screen! We're going to rebroadcast this message...every hour until sunset, got it? That gives us five chances to rake this in today - come on, folks, get a move on!"

There was an instant scrabble to do as he had said.

"Get me the mobile news team, all our best cameras and the new boom-microphone sound set - everything, I said!"

His personal cell phone buzzed at his hip, and without missing a beat he answered it, shouting over the hubbub of the station.

"Kanzuka here, go!"

"Yes, it's a real broadcast - who are you? How did you get this number?"

"No! Contact the station through direct channels if you want a feed!"

He hung up the phone; the few men who were standing close to him looked curious.

"NBC. Said they were monitoring; as if NBC would call my personal -"

"Sir! Sir - "

"Don't interrupt me!"

"But sir! It's NBC on line sixteen, sir; they're requesting a live video feed and they want to speak directly to you."

He looked down at the pale-faced rookie who was holding up the phone almost fearfully. Blinking, and then suddenly smiling wolfishly, Production Manager Kanzuka took the call.

"Kanzuka here. I'm assuming you're the same person who just called my personal phone?"

"Yes, we'll be doing a broadcast of that vigil later this evening. Yes, my assistant told me - you wanted a live feed? Let's talk dollars, sir. We're talking about the ceremony of the century!"

He had no idea.

* * *

In the street, looking up at the video-sides on the buildings of the city, Light could scarcely believe his eyes. Before she even said her name, Light felt the urge to laugh maniacally and restrained it.

"Eh, Light, what were you saying about that girl? Isn't she on TV?"

Everyone on the street was as distracted by the television spectacle as Light had momentarily been, so he risked a brief answer.

"Yes, Ryuk. Misa, doing exactly what I told her too."

And Light, smiling, decided that he really did love Misa after all.

"She's given me the perfect opportunity..."

* * *

A/N: Ah! Sorry for the wait, but I have so many different stories now...still, I think I'm doing a pretty good job updating them all, so, I present chapter 2! Wherein Misa figures out what she's meant to do, and Light notices! Much thanks to SlimChandi for my first review!  
Please Review! It doesn't take long; I know, I've tried it!


	3. Chapter 3

III.

In the Palm Of His Hand

* * *

"So let me see if I have all this now, Ryuk. You resurrected me with a Death Eraser that only works on the Death Note, and which cannot be seen by anyone not in possession of a Note?"

"You got it."

Light's thoughts were interrupted by a loud _crrunch_ as Ryuk bit the core of his apple in half, and devoured it.

"And as long as a person was killed by the Death Note, and their body isn't burned, this Death Eraser will bring them back to life?"

"Yup. Got any more apples, Light?"

Light dug another fruit out of the bag at his side and tossed it to the shinigami. After he had watched Misa's broadcast all the way through, Light had retreated to his favorite park; it was quiet this time of day, when the mid-afternoon sun was directly overhead, and there was no one to disturb his contemplation or witness his conversation with Ryuk - or, as it would appear, with himself.

"Why didn't you tell me about this Eraser before?"

Ryuk shrugged.

"Dunno. You never seemed interested in bringing anyone back; you just wanted to kill all those criminals, right?"

_Crrunch_.

"Yes, but if I can bring people back, I will be able to reinforce my own myth. The power to kill is necessary to enforce the positive nature in men; but the power to awaken the dead -!"

Light's eyes had gained a dark, intense gleam.

"So what about it, Ryuk? Is this like the eye deal? This Eraser of yours - does it cost half my lifespan to use?"

He smiled thinly as he said it; talking about life spans seemed a little silly now.

_Crrunch_.

"No, it doesn't cost anything. I've given it to humans before - really guilty humans, who've used the Death Note by accident, or who decided they didn't mean it..."

Light raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you help them?"

Ryuk shrugged.

"No reason. I was bored. It's not like it does me any good, one way or another. I don't get the life spans of humans who die when a human is using the Death Note, so it doesn't matter to me if they get Erased or not."

The shinigami tossed back the last bite of his apple and grinned in satisfaction.

"Ryuk, if you use the Eraser, what happens exactly?"

"No idea, exactly. Things don't work like that, Light. Are there - "

"No, there aren't any more apples left. You just ate the last one."

"Hey, we should go get some more! I've been without apples for three whole days; it was terrible!"

Light smiled thinly.

"Bored and no apples? I can't even imagine. But tell me, Ryuk; if you Erase a name, does that mean it's as if it was never written in the first place?"

Ryuk contemplated quizzically for a moment; it was the strangest expression Light had yet seen on the shinigami's features.

"Mmm, yea, I think so. See, if we Erase a name, then we lose the years that we would have gained from that human. Thing is kind of stupid anyway, had no use for it at all 'til I started playing in the human world - then it was...lots of fun."

He grinned.

"So, what are we doing now, Light? You wanna use the Eraser?"

Light blinked thoughtfully, appeared to consider it and then shook his head.

"No; not right now, anyway. I've got to get back to the apartment; Misa won't be there, yet, and I need a change of clothes - "

He stopped very suddenly, and his eyes grew wide.

"Ryuk, my shirt is bloody and I remember being shot. Where are the bullet holes? Why am I not wounded?"

There was the tiniest hint of panic in Light's voice.

"Eh? Oh, well there wouldn't be much point in bringing people back to life if they died again right away, would there? The Death Eraser tends to fix stuff like that. It won't put back parts that get cut off, though..."

Light waved an impatient hand.

"What if you had a sickness, and you were about to die - and then instead, you were written in the Death Note. If, after you died, you were brought back with the Eraser, would you be healed?"

Ryuk shrugged.

"What if you wrote in that someone was decapitated, and then Erased them - would their head be reattached, even if...parts usually aren't?"

"Maybe. Never really had any reason to test it - and it never ends well, shinigami trying to extend human lives."

Light turned away from Ryuk's sudden, feral grin.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions, Light."

"Mm."

They had crossed the park to the road, and Light could see people walking now; everyone seemed to be moving rapidly, and as he continued down the street, turning to make for the apartment he had shared with Misa, he saw numbers of people in white robes already moving around; some of them looked to be praying, others were hawking candles and 'purifying ingredients', everything from smudge sticks to silver charms, baby wipes to bath salts.

He smiled as he looked back and forth; the people and their preparations filled him with warmth. His was a just mission, a godly mission! The people wanted him, needed his presence, his judgments, so that they could live their lives without fear of the murdering scum who had once run the earth.

Light checked his watch; 3:45. That meant there was still more than three hours until sunset - plenty of time. As he was opening the door to the apartment building and stepping into the elevator, he was arranging his thoughts, planning each thing he had to do in order.

_Call the hospital and ask to speak to Lin Takari; I don't need him to deal with Sakura TV anymore, Misa has that in hand. I have to prepare the announcement of my death, to be aired before the vigil. Misa may be helpful to me again, with that...and then there is a little unfinished business to be taken care of._

He knew the _name_ of that unfinished business now; it was nothing to worry about. _  
_

_Near..._

The name filled his mind with a sneer. L had been a worthy opponent, an interesting friend...and foe. But Near! Near had defeated Kira in a way that left a bitter taste in Light's mouth; sewing falseness, one patch at a time, until the original quilt was obscured. L had been the genius detective; Near had only scratched by, stealing his predecessors work.

Thoughts fuming, Light got off the elevator at his floor, and made his way quietly through the hall. He had not gotten to know any of his neighbors very well, but if Misa had been crying and carrying on and in general creating a scene, they would be more than aware of his death.

Carefully, he slid his key into the lock, and then pushed the door open with a flutter of surprise. The door was not only unlocked, but not even closed all the way. He stepped inside, and looked around, but there was no evidence of a burglary; Misa must have just been careless. His extra pairs of shoes were still by the doorway; there was a flicker of brightness from the far side of the apartment, coming from the crack of the bedroom door, but other than that the rooms were quiet and still.

Light shut and locked the door behind him, and immediately made his way over to the phone, flipped his way through the phone book and called the hospital morgue.

"Yes, I'd like to speak with Lin Takari, please; yes, it's a minor emergency."

There was a pause and a clattering sound as whoever had answered the phone went to seek out Takari; after a minute or so, there was a hurried voice on the line, dimmed a little with concern.

"Hello, this is Takari -"

"Lin Takari, do you recognize my voice?"

"Of - of course! Kira-dono, what do you need? My shift hasn't ended yet, so I -"

"Listen carefully, Takari. You no longer need to contact Sakura Television; this has been taken care of by my High Priestess."

"High Priestess...yes, Kira-dono. Is there something else you require from me?"

"I was kept in your morgue for three days, is that correct?"

"Yes, Kira-dono -"

"And in that time, my death has been properly certified, annotated, and witnessed?"

"Yes, Kira-dono -"

"Thank you, Takari. Do you have a personal cell phone?"

"Yes, Kira-dono."

"Give the number to me, and then wait for my call. And if you get a chance, Takari, turn on Sakura Television. I believe they're playing something which you may find of interest..."

He hung up the phone without waiting for acknowledgment, and then sat back on the couch and flipped on Sakura TV.

_Next -_

He waited for the end of the broadcast, so he could scan the names attached to the credits; while he was waiting, he turned on Misa's computer and ran a search for any criminals who had been arrested in the few days since his death. There weren't many, and he was pleased by this; even with the pause in judgments, it appeared that most of the criminals still alive were too afraid to make a move.

_Perhaps they didn't even notice there _was_ a pause_.

Out of the twelve men who had been arrested, he selected two whose crime he found particularly heinous, and then returned his attention to the list of names in Sakura Television's credit run.

_Easy. _

The station's website had a list of all the employees, alphabetized and with a snapshot of each face beside it.

_Too easy._

Light then flipped through the phone book a second time; the number of Sakura Television was highlighted in Misa's favorite color - bright pink.

The phone rang busy the first three times he called, and then a very rushed sounding woman answered; quickly, Light made a judgment on her name, based on her accent, her apparent age, and the fact that she was female - only three female employees worked at Sakura television, and two were almost elderly. The remaining employee was a Vietnamese exchange-student, serving as an intern. Before she could speak, Light greeted her with carefully prepared words.

"Minh, this is Kira. Perhaps you have received other calls this afternoon from individuals claiming to be me, but if necessary I will prove to you that I am who I say I am."

The girl on the other end of the line managed to stutter a response after a few seconds of silence.

"Pr-prove?!"

"Yes. Would you like Production Manager Kanzuka to die, Minh? I will do this, if it is necessary, although I do not feel he deserves -"

"No, no. Ac-actually, no one has called claiming...claiming to be Kira."

Light smiled slowly.

"Except me."

"Except...except you."

"I would like you to bring this phone call to the attention of the Production Manager now, Minh. Will you do that for me?"

"Of - of course, Kira- I mean Kira-sama - or, um - Lord Kira - "

"You do not need to be afraid, Minh. Are you a good girl?"

"Ye - yes, Lord Kira, but...but...but..."

"But?"

"But I used to go out drinking with these friends - I was underage, and I -I- but I know it was wrong, Lord Kira!"

Light was silent; he heard the breath of the girl at the other end of the line, almost a sob in it.

"I'm - I'm sorry, Lord Kira - "

"Minh, you should be proud that you have repented, and you should remember this lesson always. Now - the Production Manager?"

"Oh - oh yes! Forgive me - I'll get him right away!"

Light heard the faint tones of ridiculous hold music, and held the phone away from his ear; his face did not show it, but he was quite pleased, indeed.

_Everyone fears to impersonate Kira - so only I can be him! Only I, who truly am Lord Kira! Already, I am the confessor of my people, the one who absolves all their sins. _

* * *

_Behind Light's chair, Ryuk hung supportless, upside-down in mid-air. He could hear both sides of the conversation, and he felt bad for Light, having to listen to some whining girl complain. _

"Hey, Light, you should quit talking to that girl and bring me some apples instead."

_When there was no response, he wandered off through the apartment; he was actually somewhat glad to be back in the familiar space. This time, without any idiot investigators, Light was sure to be more fun...  
And there was something else, too - why he couldn't he remember? Something that he'd been told was worth trying in the human world..._

**_Besides apples._**

_He pulled a horrific face that nobody could see, but felt better afterwards anyway. _

**_Maybe I shouldn't have told Light about the Eraser. If he starts feeling bad about using the Death Note and brings all the people back, what would be the fun in that?_**

_But Ryuk perked up almost immediately upon returning to the living room, because Light was sitting and holding the phone and talking again, and he was smiling - what a great smile!_

**_Or maybe he'll do something...completely different!_**

"Light, what are you doing now?"

_He leaned forward so he could listen in, but he still could only hear Light's half of the conversation this time._

"Yes, Kanzuka-san, I can make the necessary records available to you. One of my loyal followers was there when I Returned, and I will have him provide the necessary documents. I require two other things from you, however."

"Yes, two. First, you will broadcast this evening's ceremony to any of those who desire a feed - and I mean, local networks, global television, international news agencies - anyone."

"Hmm? Charge whatever you please, Kanzuka - within reason. But please keep any greedy schemes to yourself."

"The second thing is that I want you to broadcast the information I just gave you about the unexplained resurrection of Yagami Light; as I said, the death certificate and the doctor for you to interview will arrive shortly. Make no mistake, Kanzuka; this is more important than you can imagine."

"In order that you understand I am completely serious, the last two serious offenders held in Tokyo prison, both child molesters arrested in the last forty-eight hours, will die. I'm sure that you will be able to confirm this through your own channels; allow five minutes from the time I hang up, and then check. The names of the prisoners in question are Teito and Onizaki."

"You will hear from me sooner than you think, Kanzuka. Do as I have asked, or you, too, will be punished."

_Ryuk let out a faint chuckle as Light put down the phone and checked his watch; 4:18. _

"Ryuk, I'm going to shower but I think Misa has some apples in the fridge, if you want."

"Ahh, that's good! Are we going out later, Light?"

_Light's back was turned and Ryuk could not see his face, but his footsteps were sure and certain, his shoulders straight; there was assurance in every movement of his body._

"Yes. I think we'll go to the beach tonight, Ryuk. How about that?"

"Ehh? The beach?"

_It sounded odd, but then he remembered that Misa on TV had said something about a bunch of candles, and the beach, and Kira - _

"So that's your plan, Light? Going to reveal yourself as some kind of High Priest, and then -"

"Oh no, Ryuk. I'm going to reveal myself - as Kira. Lord Kira, they call me; they pray to me like they once prayed to the gods that did not answer, and they do it because Kira _does_ answer!"

**_I knew it!_**

"You should pay close attention, Ryuk. Tonight, I will show you how a man becomes a god."

* * *

A/N: Much apologizings for the long delay; I've got five classes now as well as my job, so it's going to take me a little longer to get out chapters...but, I will still be posting them! Also, for some reason I haven't been able to upload any files...it keeps saying there's some kind of error so I'm being ingenius and using already uploaded files and the magic of paste! Please Review (it feeds my evil genius!) :D


	4. Chapter 4

IV.

Come Again In Glory

* * *

From where she was sitting in the center of the studio, watching the flash of lights and her own face on the television screens in banks in front of her, Misa could hear a constant babble of voices; there were operators at every phone, and the lights in the call center were in a constant state of blinking and beeping, almost at overload.

Most of it, she tuned out; earlier she had watched the first rebroadcast of her message to the followers of Kira, and was quite proud of herself. She had no need to watch it again, though; she had only wanted to make sure that the directions to the beach that Kanzuka had added were correct.

Outside the station, people had begun to gather almost immediately, and now, by the noise outside, she could tell there was quite a crowd.

Misa was tempted to get up and look out the window, see what kinds of things people were doing, see what kinds of people were out there, but as she was lifting herself from her seat she heard a deep, belly laugh that was out of place in the bustling, overworked atmosphere of the studio.

She turned to look; Kanzuka was standing over a young intern, who looked both terrified and awed, and he was wiping tears away from his eyes. Trying not to make it obvious, Misa wandered a little closer, and decided on the pretense of getting a cup of tea. She could hear him clearly while she was adding hot water to a styrofoam cup.

"You really expect me to believe that that's Kira on the phone, Minh? Tell me, how many people do you think have called today claiming- "

"None - none, sir! And he - he _sounds_ like Lord Kira; I swear! He knew my name before I said _anything -_ he even..."

Misa saw the girl flush and blink rapidly, falling silent out of fear or embarrassment - but she was still holding up the phone.

Misa froze, her fingers white-knuckled on the hot water heater and the dispensing lever. Water filled up her cup, ran over the rim, and began to spill down onto the floor.

_Kira - Kira is on that phone? Oh please let it be true, let it be true -_

She stood completely still, listening to Kanzuka mutter under his breath, and then hopped up and down silently when the hot water she had been pouring finally became a large enough pool that her foot encountered it.

_Hot! Hot, hot, hot - _

"Alright! But listen Minh, if this is a waste of my time, then you - "

Kanzuka gestured threateningly with a finger across his throat.

Misa desperately wished she could hear what Kanzuka was going to say. She wanted to meet Kira badly; she always had, ever since he had first appeared and then given her justice for her family's death. She wanted to hear the voice of this person and see if it was the same voice as her unidentifiable memory, the memory that gave her a headache.

She snuck away, leaving her toppled teacup and the spreading pool of water behind her. The girl that was trying to convince Kanzuka to take the call had been talking on line twelve; if Misa was careful, maybe she could sneak a listen.

The room next door to the production room was unlocked; there were a couple old cameras in it, a broken microphone and some moldy files - but there was also a dusty phone on a dusty desk.

_Let's see...line...twelve..._

Carefully, with a hand over her mouth to block her breath, Misa lifted the phone and pressed the button to switch the line. She heard the sound of Kanzuka clearing his throat. She paused, but then shook her head and grinned gleefully.

_Success!_

Then she heard a voice that was impossibly familiar speaking, and almost dropped the phone.

"_Hello, Kanzuka-san. This is Kira speaking._"

Kanzuka's laughter came clearly through the phone.

"You really expect me to believe that you're Kira, just calling me up plain as day, like a regular guy?"

"_I'm not quite sure what you mean, Kanzuka-san. Do you think there are those foolish enough to _pretend _to be Lord Kira?_"

Kanzuka pulled at his collar, a little confused now. It was true that such a thing would be foolish; the evidence spoke for itself. Demegawa, his predecessor, had certainly paid the price for acting in Kira's name, without Kira's consent -

"Look, it's just that I've got Kira's High Priestess sitting in my studio, and she told me that Kira was dead! In the event of Kira's death, she said - "

"_How astute of you, Kanzuka-san, but as you can see, I am no longer dead. Please listen carefully. Three days ago, in the course of a secret investigation, a young man named Yagami Light was killed, for being...associated with Kira, and the blame of course was put on Kira. Actually, Yagami Light was Kira; I am Yagami Light."_

Kanzuka gaped at the phone, not saying a word.

_"I'm sure you wonder why there has been no announcement, but the governments involved obviously though it wiser not to tell the world that the God of the new age of peace had been slain on their orders._"

Still, Kanzuka remained silent.

"_The important thing, of course, is that now I am alive again, and it is your task to tell the world of my death and my return._"

"You want me... to broadcast a statement that you were dead, but now you're resurrected? Are you crazy? No one is going to believe that!"

He heard a low chuckle, and for some reason, Kanzuka suddenly swallowed hard; he could _feel _the pressure of a terrible will being directed at him.

"_Oh, I think they will believe - as long as I have your help, Kanzuka-san. As Japanese citizen and graduate student in good standing, Yagami Light, the records of my death are quite legal, and quite complete...and obviously, I am no longer dead."_

Kanzuka let out a dry chuckle.

"Oh...really...."

_**Who is this guy? He hasn't even really said anything threatening and I'm shaking like a little kid! Is it - is it really **_**Him**_**?**_

"_Yes, Kanzuka-san. Really. I will make the necessary records available to you. One of my loyal followers was there when I Returned, and I will have him provide the necessary documents. I require....two other things from you, however..._"

Kanzuka swallowed hard. It was difficult to believe that this relatively normal-sounding guy could be Kira, but then again....if anyone was going to call up like this, pretending, it would probably be a complete crackpot, someone you could tell was a fake from a mile off.

_This guy, though - I wonder...I wonder if it's _really _Kira? Maybe I should be nicer or something-_

"Uh...two...two things, Kira-sama?"

The person on the other end of the line - whoever it was - said nothing about Kanzuka's sudden about-face in attitude.

"_Yes, two. First, you will broadcast this evening's ceremony to any of those who desire a feed - and I mean, local networks, global television, international news agencies - anyone._"

Kanzuka's eyes bulged; his face was shiny with sweat and his shirt was sticking to him. The more he talked to this guy, the more he was beginning to believe. This voice was so...so calm, but somehow just absolutely terrifying. And what he was saying - it really _was _like a gift from heaven.

"Ahh...Kira-sama, you don't expect us to just give all these video rights away, do you? I mean, uh...it's customary to charge a...uh..._fee_."

"_Hmm? Charge whatever you like, Kanzuka - within reason. But please keep any greedy schemes to yourself."_

Kanzuka purpled and took a deep breath, preparing for a rant or a rampage - he hadn't quite decided. _Kira-sama_ continued on, as if he hadn't just insulted Sakura Television's top Production Manager.

"_The second thing is that I want you to broadcast the information I just gave you about the unexplained resurrection of Yagami Light; as I said, the death certificate and the doctor for you to interview will arrive shortly. Make no mistake, Kanzuka; this is more important than you can imagine._"

Kanzuka held his breath; it was clear to him now, all clear. He would be famous for this broadcast, for being the man to finally reveal Kira's identity to the world - and if he really had been resurrected, the possibilities were endless.

"_In order that you understand I am completely serious, the last two serious offenders held in Tokyo prison, both child molesters arrested in the last forty-eight hours, will die. I'm sure that you will be able to confirm this through your own channels; allow five minutes from the time I hang up, and then check. The names of the prisoners in question are Teito and Onizaki._"

There was a moment of silence, and then, stuttering, Kanzuka ventured a last question.

"Will I - will I hear from you again?"

"_You will hear from me sooner than you think, Kanzuka. Do as I have asked, or you, too, will be punished._"

Kanzuka heard a _click_ at the end of the line, and then the hum of the open, empty circuit; slowly, very slowly, he lowered the receiver into the its cradle, and then turned to look at his staff.

They were watching him open mouthed - and then he pumped a victorious fist and let out a shout.

"Yes! We're headed for the big time, kiddos!"

And then he grinned, a chaotic, manic expression that was all mixed up with greed and camera-lust and the glitter of fame, just within reach.

"Kira-sama - no, Kira-dono, has a message for us to send to the world. At last, he is going to reveal himself! Get ready for the most incredible story of your lives, folks!"

* * *

In the room next door, Misa had long before fallen to her knees. Her left hand was shaking so hard that the phone was vibrating; her right hand had molded itself to the mouthpiece it had been covering so that when she let go, her fingers hurt as she unclenched them. When she heard the _click_ of Kanzuka hanging up, she stayed completely still, not even brushing away the tears that flowed in streams down her cheeks, trying to breathe, and trying to breathe, and trying to breathe.

_Light! He's alive, alive, alive - ! _

And then:

_Light is Kira! Kira is my Light!_

She could see now the terrible way that the investigation team had lied to her, twisting the truth so that they did not have to reveal this incredible secret to her. There was a pulse of rage towards them, an inner assault of potential violence that she hid easily behind a cute, attractive face. Only her eyes gave a hint of the vindictive thoughts that suddenly tore through her, and she closed them, pushing herself to inner silence so she could try to focus.

_Kira! Light is....Light is Kira! _

She knew Light hadn't killed himself, and that meant that the investigation team had done it, of course, and that ridiculous _N. _But again, she put all those thoughts aside because the impossible thing, the important thing, was that Light was alive, and even better than that, he was Kira.

How was it that she had never guessed? It was, of course, the only thing that explained the way that Kira had been able to stay one step ahead of Light. They were the same!

In the same instant as she fully accepted this, she also realized that _everything_ Light had said to Kanzuka must be true. She had seen Light's dead body with her own eyes, flat and lifeless on a cold table in the hospital morgue. It was the only thing that had been able to convince her that he was actually dead; she had refused to believe the words of the investigators.

How was it possible that Light could come back? How had he returned to her?

_I have to go home, he must be there! He must! _

The thought of seeing Light again finally stopped the shaking, and Misa stood quickly, rubbing rug-marks out of her white robe. The world came back into her senses with a rush, and she could hear the people laughing and shouting outside, calling for Kira. She finally took the peek out the window she had wanted earlier, and was shocked. There were _thousands_ of people, white-robed and candle-bearing, some in only white T-shirts, or regularly dressed but calling out in loud voices.

_The Faithful! Kira's Faithful! _

She smiled happily and would have clapped her hands except the thought came to her that she was going to have to sneak out if she wanted to leave - certainly Kanzuka wasn't going to let her go without good reason.

_And if I tried to tell him I was going to meet Kira, he would know I eavesdropped, since I already told him Kira was dead...._

Carefully, she poked her nose out the door of the room she had closeted herself in, and saw that the station was even busier than before she snuck away. Kanzuka had one ear attached to his cellphone and one eye on a hastily scribbled script; no one had yet bothered to clean up the water that Misa had spilled all over the floor and it was being tracked everywhere by men carrying awkward, heavy equipment. The two men that Kanzuka seemed to have assigned her as caretakers, Ichiro and Tetsu, were nowhere in sight.

_One, two, three..._

With a lithe movement, Misa slid out of the doorway and darted down the hall past the sound-check station and a short, elderly-looking woman who was fiddling with some lights. Down a few stairs, through a closed off hall with only one lonely light bulb in it, and out the back door -

_Ah -_

Misa held up a hand in front of her eyes; the low angle of the late afternoon sun was blinding. To her left, there was a gate opening out onto the street towards the growing crowd of white-robed Faithful; to her right, there was a guard, blinking at her in surprise.

"Uh - miss - !"

"Misa has something to do; Misa will be back in time for the vigil, if anyone asks!"

And then she darted away into the crowd, and disappeared.

The guard only sighed, and leaned back against the door. He was old, no way he was going to chase after a girl as speedy as that one!

_Anyway, what are they thinking? High Priestess! _

Six years, he'd been working for this station, and this was the craziest stunt they'd pulled yet. Probably best if that girl got out of it now; High Priestess of Kira!...she was just a little blond, that's all...barely more than a kid...

* * *

A/N: Ah, sorry, that took a long time! I've been reviewing the rules of using Death Notes, and have discovered a surprising number of loopholes that will be fun to play with! This chapter was a little long...so I cut part of it, and now the next chapter is almost done! Nice, right? :D Anyway, much thanks to my reviewers - you are few but greatly appreciated! That means kudos for:

NX-Loveless-XN: He really is! And you know, I wondered about that myself; I know it was only in the Pilot, and not the "actual" series...but it's the most incredible plot device!

xUNGracefulxAssassin: Much thanks! I know it took a while, but - a chapter! And the next one sooner, promise, cause it's already partially done!

meddmaLyd: Much thanks to you as well! Making Light sufficiently evil and calculating is an exercise in controlled madness, let me tell you! Because everytime I go to write him doing something I have to think 'okay, he'll plan this, and then this step comes next...' it's kind of scary, actually!


	5. Chapter 5

V.

To Judge The Living...

* * *

Misa ran up the stairs in her apartment building without even trying the elevator; she had to be moving, or she thought she was going to explode. She had run all the way from the television studio, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from people on the street. Not as strange as usual - the numbers of white-robed and white-dressed Kira followers were enormous, and still growing - but then most of _those_ people were not sprinting at top speed across the crowded sidewalks.

At the top of the stairs, Misa was still running; it was only when she got to the apartment door that she stopped, her fingers trembling again as she reached out for the door handle. It did not turn.

_Locked. But when I left, I didn't lock the door - I didn't even close it. So - so - he really must be -_

With a stabbing, twisting motion that almost broke the key off in the lock, she got the door open and took three steps in. She could hear a voice, a familiar, wonderful voice, speaking quietly.

"So, will you let me use it, Ryuk? The Eraser?"

"Yes, I'll buy more apples...Thanks, Ryuk. You won't regret this."

In one movement, Misa shed her shoes and shut the door behind her, but before she could take another step she heard abrupt rustling, and then footsteps behind her...and her name.

"Misa."

She wanted to turn and run into his arms but she couldn't move; her new knowledge filled her suddenly, and she wondered what she should say - what she _could _say. He was - Kira!

But Light felt no need to be reticent; he thought her shock was only because he was standing in front of her, alive.

"Aren't you surprised, Misa? Aren't you glad? I thought you would be - happy."

He did his best to sound sad, and was therefore surprised when, rather than running to him or bursting into tears, Misa turned and cast herself on the floor in front of him, pressing her face against his knees.

"Kira-sama, Lord Kira!"

Light was startled into taking a step backwards, and Misa fell forward, her face at his feet. She looked up quickly, smiling more brightly than he had seen in a long time.

"Kira-sama is my Light - my Light is Kira-sama! Misa is _so_ happy -"

It was not the first time Misa had managed to totally shock him, but this went beyond anything in his prior experience. How could she know? Was Kanzuka already broadcasting his identity; or could he have said something just to Misa?

"Misa – Misa, how -"

"I heard on the phone, Light, I heard you talking to Kanzuka and I had to come right away and see you! Light -"

His own questioned already answered, Light knew what she would ask next - it was the question that everyone would be asking, but looking at her now, he knew that he would tell her the truth. She was the only one he could trust with it; the only one he could trust at all.

_Only Misa, faithful, loving, devoted Misa._

"You want to know why I am alive, Misa?"

"Yes! I saw you, Light, I saw your body – _they_ didn't want to let me but I wouldn't believe that – that – but you _were_ dead!"

He nodded.

"Yes, Misa. Come sit down now."

He reached down and pulled her up from the floor, and she followed him complacently, though her grip on his hand was rather tight. When she was seated and as relaxed as he could reasonably expect, he picked up the Death Note from where he had left it on the coffee table and looked at her seriously.

"I considered not telling anyone the truth of who I was, not telling _you_ who I was, Misa, and continuing somewhat as I had before...from the shadows."

Misa wiped happy tears from under her eyes with both hands.

"But...but Light - "

"I decided against it, when I saw you on the television, Misa. You were perfect, a vision, so devoted to Kira even though you had been told he was responsible for my death...even without knowing exactly what was going on, even without a complete memory, you did exactly what I asked. And I want to give it back to you, Misa, the memory that you have lost."

_A little white lie. With or without her, Kira was destined to come forward into the light. But..._

Misa smiled suddenly.

"Misa knew it! I've met you as Kira before, haven't I? I have this memory...I remember all the words of a conversation that I had with _somebody_, but I can't remember the somebody! It makes my head hurt..."

Light looked back over his shoulder for a moment, as if there was someone behind him; she gave him an odd look, but he ignored her for a moment, spoke into the silence.

"Ryuk, is that possible?"

She heard no answer - but he had been speaking to someone named Ryuk when she came in.

_I thought Light was on the phone, but - if he wasn't, then who...what is Ryuk?_

Light, however, was more than aware of Ryuk's answer; he had been laughing under his breath ever since Misa first arrived.

"**You know, losing the Death Note only erases memories of the Death Note itself. So, anything else -**"

Light smiled, and knowing exactly what the effect on her would be, he leaned intimately close and whispered against the curve of Misa's ear.

"Thank you, Misa. You've given Kira the perfect stage for his introduction to the world. I love you..."

Her eyes were still red from the crying she had already done, but the promise of future tears was completely washed away by his words; he felt her shaking, and allowed her to kiss him, barely more than a brush of her trembling lips against his.

Surprisingly, he felt a momentary flush of desire.

_Interesting. She's beautiful enough but I've never really wanted her before. Why now? What is it that has changed?_

He allowed himself a moment to contemplate; perhaps it was just that he had been dead, and now, being alive, his body was...eager to prove that fact? Or maybe it was just her devotion, her commitment to him, which was now more obvious than ever.

_I was dead, and still, she supported me more than any of the others. It has always been that way; even when she had her own Death Note and her own shinigami she was only intent on meeting Kira, and being of service to him...me. _

Light smiled, crafting a gentle expression for Misa, something to give his words of love meaning; she deserved something of a reward, after all. She had done well, and the effort was worth it, too. There was always a special brightness to Misa when he was with her, and now there was a glow of devotion in her eyes that he found tremendously arousing.

It clicked then.

_I want her because she is totally mine. No one else will ever be for me what she is; the ultimate disciple. I wonder, did I have to die to see this? She always seemed like a burden before, but I wanted her with me at the end -_

The glow of her eyes was the glow of a perfect love, the catharsis that had belonged to the ancient Priestesses of all religions. He knew then that he had made the right decision.

"Touch this Death Note, Misa, and everything you have lost will be restored to you."

"Death Note?"

"Yes. A notebook that can kill...the weapon of Kira. You have written in this notebook before, Misa - am I right, Ryuk?"

**"Hmm...yea, I think so. But you switched them all up, Light, so -"**

"I know; but now Misa can touch this Note and regain her memory."

**"I guess so. But you know, if she loses contact with it, she'll forget again. And there's a limit to how many times you can regain your memory, you know, Light_._"**

Light froze; he had _not_ known that! Misa heard nothing for a second time, but she was beginning to suspect a _presence_ was with them.

"Um...Light? Are you talking to someone Misa can't see?"

Light shook his head; there would be time enough to try and pry information out of Ryuk later...

"Yes, Misa. Ryuk, the shinigami attached to the Death Note. Take it, Misa."

"Death...Note..."

The words felt oddly familiar on her tongue; her hands reached out and took hold of the notebook, and then clutched it convulsively. Her eyes opened wide, and then her mouth, and Light flinched backwards, as if expecting a scream...but nothing happened. Misa didn't make a sound, just sat completely still with an expression on her face that gave a clue to the turmoil in her thoughts. He could imagine perfectly what she was going through; he had felt it himself in the helicopter.

And then:

"Light! Light, I was so afraid, but you won! You beat L, _and_ Near...Light!"

And she turned a little and bowed to the shinigami she could see behind him.

"Hello, Ryuk! Misa won't hug you this time!"

"Uh..thanks, I guess."

Ryuk scratched his head in confusion. Misa didn't seem to mind his lukewarm response; her delighted smile was positively blinding, and Light, too, smiled.

"Misa, Kira still needs your help. But first, take a page from that Death Note and keep it somewhere on you at all times; inside your clothes, where it is touching your skin but no one else can touch it. If you lose contact with it even for an instant, you will lose all your memories again. You'll need to keep this piece of Death Note on you until we retrieve the other notes - and we'll have to act quickly to do that."

"Yes, Light!"

Immediately, Misa tore a careful square from the corner of one page, and tucked it down into the cup of her bra.

"It will be safe, now, Light, but _you_ can take it if you want to!"

She dimpled; Light allowed himself a sigh. There was this side of Misa, too, even when she was being her most helpful. It just would not do to forget how utterly impulsive she could be.

_However...following my instructions, she has always done well. I almost killed her so many times; wanted to even more, but now – she really is indispensable, and she became so without even trying._

"Misa, I want to apologize to you."

The thought came to him spontaneously, but a single moment of further reflection was enough to assure him that it was an excellent idea.

"A-apologize?"

He pulled her suddenly close, as if he couldn't help himself, and held her tightly.

"Misa, in the days leading up to my death I was frustrated, angry, and I took that frustration out on you. Can you forgive me, Misa?"

Her face changed; she had been looking at him strangely, pleased but confused. Now her features were soft, very gently smiling. It was an almost angelic expression.

_Yes, Misa! Just that face will win the world for Kira._

"Light, Misa loves you more than anyone else! How can you ask that? Light does not need forgiving; I understand that it is hard work, being Kira and trying to save the world."

That glow - the awe in her face, the worship, the love - !

In a rare moment of real feeling, he crushed her against his chest.

"Misa, you are my perfect woman - my _perfect woman_ -"

"Light -"

She whispered his name faintly, completely overcome, and Light smiled his darkest, most possessive smile into her hair.

_Yes, Misa; perfect for me, smart enough to do exactly what I tell you and nothing else; you have no ambition, no desire except to please me...and you are not just a Priestess, but a devotee, a true believer._

* * *

Light allowed Misa a few minutes of holding onto him, and then carefully disengaged her, one hand, one arm at a time. She pouted, but did not complain; he restrained an irritated sigh and leaned back against the couch, patting her hand reassuringly.

"Misa, we will have time later to catch up, and be glad that we are alive, together, and that the world is finally changing. But right now, I need your help. A man is going to be here shortly; he was the one who helped me when I returned to life - so be nice to him, Misa. Then you must bring him back to the TV station; Kanzuka will have missed you, and he's waiting for this man - Takari."

She nodded vigorously, wiping her eyes again.

"Yes, Light, Misa can do that! But does that mean that the vigil is cancelled, since you're here, now-"

"No, Misa, and that 's what I need your help with the most."

She clasped her hands together tightly and looked up at him.

"What should I do, Light? Just say it, anything, and Misa will do it!"

"Then listen very carefully, Misa. We're going to answer the prayers of the people, and show them the true power of Kira. "

"The _true_ power of Kira? More than just the Death Note, Light?"

He nodded slowly. The events of his death had been a real test of her faith, but Light had no doubt in Misa now; her words proved that he was right to place his trust in her. But before he had a chance to really answer her question, there was a buzz from the intercom, and Light crossed the room, pressed the button.

"Yes?"

"K-Kira-dono? It's Takari, Lin Takari - I've come as you asked."

"Yes. Come up to the fifth floor. My High Priestess will meet you at the top of the stairs."

Light released the intercom button and turned back to Misa, smiled at her.

"Are you ready to go to work, Misa?"

She nodded.

"Yes, Light - I mean, Kira-sama."

She grinned.

"Should I be serious and scary, or gentle and kind, or - "

"All of them at once, Misa. This Takari is a doctor who worked in the morgue where I re-awakened; he has a personality like Matsuda's but he is extremely dedicated to his Lord. I had intended to use him to get in contact with Sakura TV, but you've done more than I could have hoped, so instead I have a different purpose for him."

"A different purpose?"

"You'll see soon enough, Misa - get going now, and don't forget - you are Kira's High Priestess."

She nodded and slipped out the door with a last smile thrown in his direction.

* * *

At the top of the stairs, Misa stood and waited; she could hear a man's footsteps approaching, but Light hadn't told her to hold doors, just to _receive_ him.

_Anyway, High Priestesses don't open doors for people! Misa must do a good job, her best acting ever, especially for Light!_

The door pulled inward in front of her, and Misa took a step back. The man who came through the door did, indeed, remind her of Matsuda; he had Matsuda's eyes, and Matsuda's nervous expression. When he spoke she almost laughed; he _sounded_ like Matsuda, too!

"High Priestess, I am Lin Takari, a servant of Kira-dono. He summoned me; will you take me to him?"

"I was sent to do so. Follow me, Lin Takari."

Misa was proud of her words and her steady voice, and she made a sharp about-face. With even, careful steps Misa made her way back down the hallway to the apartment she shared with Light. The door was open and waiting, even though she had shut it behind her, and she half-expected Light to be waiting in the doorway. Instead, when she stepped inside she saw that the apartment had been darkened, and Light was standing on the other side of the living room, his features highlighted by a single ray of light that snuck through the blinds. It illuminated only the angles of his face and the movement of his lips, leaving his eyes in shadow.

"Welcome, Takari."

"Kira-dono -"

Takari approached to within five paces, and then dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor.

"Instruct me, and I will obey."

Light smiled; this was even better than he had hoped.

_Then again, this man saw me return to life. I killed a man before his eyes; he believes that I have determined the length of his life. _

"Obey? You will die, Lin Takari. Tonight, before a thousand believers, you will die. And perhaps...if your faith is strong enough, you will live again. Do you truly believe in the power of your lord?"

Light could see the man's body shivering with suppressed adoration.

"Yes! Kira-dono - whatever is my fate, I accept it! And if I should live - live - again - "

He dared to look up for a moment but he could not bear the gleam of Light's eyes directed down at him over a benevolent smile that was only the mask of terrible power.

"Then go, Lin Takari. Go with my Priestess to the television studio; you brought the documents I asked of you?"

"Of course, Kira-dono! I have them in my jacket - "

"Excellent. Bring them with you, and work with the man you will meet there - Production Manager Kanzuka. He will help you and the High Priestess; you are going to reveal my true name, Lin Takari. Do you understand your responsibility?"

"Kira-dono! Yes, Kira-dono!"

Light turned sharply and faced Misa; she was smiling at him pridefully, and her gaze on Takari was questioning, almost disdainful.

"Priestess, are you ready for your work? Sunset is in less than an hour."

"Kira-sama."

Misa bowed prettily; Light was impressed.

"Your servant is ready."

_Wonderful, Misa!_

"You are proving my faith in you, Misa. Go now; take Takari with you."

He watched them go with a smile on his face, Misa almost stern, Takari almost trembling. When he had closed the door behind them, he turned to face Ryuk's laughter.

"Good work, Light! So, you want the eraser now?"

"Yes, Ryuk, if you don't mind."

"Nah. Here, take it - but don't forget my apples!"

Light snatched it out of the air and felt a tingle of _something_ go up his arm. It looked innocuous, pretty much like a normal eraser, but it _felt_ like nothing belonging to this world.

"Thanks. And Ryuk - there was something else I wanted from you...another deal I wanted to make."

"Hu! How...interesting!"

It was suddenly Ryuk's eyes that were gleaming.

* * *

A/N: Light, possessing the power of death...and now the power of resurrection! He can be even more evil now, oh joy! Also presenting, for the first time, Misa doing Something Useful! Much thanks to ZeroPanda and meddmaLyd for reviews! For some reason, the equation seems to work something like this: reviews=faster. haven't quite figured out the math yet! Coming Soon: Kira, Revealed to the World! (And A Q&A Session With Ryuk!)


	6. Chapter 6

VI.

Deliver Us From Evil

* * *

_Ryuk watched Light pace back and forth through the apartment with a special gleam in his eyes. He was sure - well, pretty sure, anyway, of what Light was going to ask him for. Greedily, and also somewhat amused, Ryuk contemplated the flickering, floating numbers of Light's lifespan. Perhaps a human with a shinigami's eyes couldn't see the lifespan of a Death Note's owner; he had no such limits, himself. He had always known Light's lifespan; it was one of the things he liked to contemplate to amuse himself when Light was not sufficiently interesting._

"So what do you want, Light? You wanna make a deal, you said - and now you're all...twitchy."

_For the first time since his resurrection, Light showed a spark of irritation, and Ryuk let out an internal cheer._

"I am not twitchy, Ryuk. I'm...thinking."

"It's not that hard, you know. One pair of eyes for one half of a lifespan -"

_Light let out a little laugh, and Ryuk was surprised, and then pleased. Surprised was good!_

"What're you laughing at, Light?"

_Light only shrugged, and Ryuk was even more surprised. Such an easygoing reaction!_

"Didn't I tell you already, Ryuk, that I would never consider giving away half my lifespan? Especially considering I don't know what it is, or how stable...no, it's definitely not worth it. Of course..."

_Light paused, and Ryuk found himself caught in the sharp beam of his gaze, like a deer caught in headlights._

"There are certain...interesting options that are unavailable to me because I am unable to determine a person's name immediately upon meeting them. And there have been dangers; Penbar's fiancée, for example, and her pseudonym. And tonight...."

_He paused for a moment, and Ryuk saw a flicker of uncertainty. Well, now! But Light continued almost as if he had not stopped._

"But it won't matter. The effect will be...essentially the same."

_Ryuk frowned and leaned forward._

"Hey, Light, if its not going to be interesting than I won't keep hanging around, you know."

"Really? Will you write my name in your Death Note, Ryuk, and then be back in three days again? Honestly, the way you talk about the shinigami realm, I don't know why you'd ever want to go back."

**_Oh? What's this? Can't scare him any more now that he's come back from the dead?_**

"I could always find another human and give him the Death Note; I'm sure something would happen."

"You won't find another human like me, Ryuk. Someone less intelligent or with less noble intentions would prove incredibly predictable and boring."

**_This human, every time I think he's hit the limit - !_**

_He was unable to think of any smartass reply, however, to what basically amounted to Light scolding him - him, Ryuk, a shinigami - for his own death._

**_And he's probably right, too! Hu...three days without apples again and I might do something really crazy!_**

"So what was this deal, Light?"

"Some answers for some apples - nothing too taxing. I don't have much time before the vigil, anyway."

"Sure, why not? But I can't think of much about the Death Note that I haven't already told you!"

_Light cut him off sharply, and Ryuk was warned by the strange Light of his eyes that these questions might be a little...out of the ordinary._

"Ryuk, please - quiet!"

_Ryuk peered forward with a raised eyebrow._

"Ehh?"

**_This is sure to be interesting!_**

**_

* * *

_**

Light frowned thoughtfully, trying to make sure he had formulated his questions correctly. Asking the right questions was important; without the right questions, the answers could be meaningless and he might not even know it.

"I don't want to ask you about the Death Note, Ryuk - although there are still some things that interest me - right now, I want to ask you about...shinigami."

"What about us?"

Light tossed a faint smile in his direction, as if to downplay the impact of his question.

"Tell me, Ryuk, where do shinigami come from?"

"The shinigami realm, haven't I -"

"No, Ryuk. I mean, what is your origin? How do you come into being? Human beings are born, but shinigami -"

Ryuk let out a huff of laughter.

"What a weird question! Shinigami aren't born; I'm not sure, exactly, where we come from...new ones show up occasionally, wander around and write a bunch of names. Sometimes they laugh, and sometimes they cry, and sometimes they disappear right away."

Ryuk shrugged; Light was watching him intensely.

"Couldn't tell you why, though. Do I still get an apple for that one?"

"Yes, Ryuk. Second question: the Death Notes, where do they come from? What I mean is, if a new shinigami appears, does he automatically have a Death Note? Or does he have to obtain one, or - "

"Dunno."

"But you - but you have to know, Ryuk! Didn't you just _appear_ at some point? Don't you know what happened to you?"

Ryuk shrugged.

"Not really. Do you have any idea how long it's been? You can't remember being born, and you're just a human - I've got centuries of memories...look, I'll tell you what I know since you're so interested, but it better be worth my while!"

Light's features shifted into a hard smile.

"Fair enough. You can tell me while I get dressed."

Light had chosen a red yukata, a deep, royal color; he would stand out in the sea of white-dressed followers that were waiting for him, and that was his intention.

Ryuk grinned as Light pulled out his clothes; the kid had style, had to give him that.

"Well, Ryuk?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well - I was told once that as long as there have been humans, there have been shinigami. Shinigami are supposed to shorten human lives, as some sort of penalty - don't remember that part exactly - and the reward for all this work is that we get to keep the human years...but you know all about that."

Ryuk lay on his back in the air and flapped his way disturbingly back and forth.

"Anyway, shinigami use the Death Note to kill humans, and if we want we can give the Death Note to a human, and observe. The farthest back I can remember, that's what I've been doing...and let me tell you, that's a long way back, eleven or twelve human centuries, at least."

Light raised an eyebrow in surprise and finished tying his yukata.

"That long? I would never have guessed."

Ryuk frowned. There was something sarcastic in that last comment, but he couldn't quite pick it out.

"Alright...one more thing, Ryuk, just because I'm curious."

"Oh?"

"Shinigami can come to the human world; can a human visit the shinigami realm?"

Light was holding his breath; he had maneuvered carefully with less important queries and a casual attitude to make this question, this single, all-important question, come across as careless. Ryuk shrugged, scratched his head.

"Sure, I guess. At least, there's no rule saying a human can't go, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't kill one of you just to be there...don't know why you'd want to visit, though - boring, full of sand...some bones. Everyone gambles all the time, and what's the point of gambling with something when it doesn't matter whether you win or lose? I mean, sure...you could gamble with your last few years just to make it interesting...but who wants to die over a coupl'a bones turned the wrong way, right, Light?"

He frowned then, because it appeared as if halfway through his little rant Light had stopped listening entirely.

"Hey, Light!"

"That's all the questions I have, Ryuk; I'll get you your apples after we get back from this ceremony, all right?"

Ryuk grinned.

"That's all I need to know!"

Light stepped over to stand in front of the mirror, and smoothed his collar carefully. With equal care, he combed his hair and then reached for the Death Note, tucked it carefully into a nondescript bag.

Quite suddenly, he heard Kira's name blaring from the television in the living room, and took a few hurried steps out of the bedroom.

"_...yes, I saw him myself. He was brought in with six bullet wounds, several of which could have been the fatal wound, and he was placed in cold storage in the morgue pending an autopsy. I heard some of the men who brought him in speak of him as Kira, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. Kira-dono would never abandon those of us who have faith in him; he couldn't possibly die! I was wrong, but then I saw him rise again before my own eyes!_"

"_But surely, you're not telling us that Kira-dono is resurrected, and that you have met him face to face!_"

Light grinned; he recognized the voice of Kanzuka, the production manager, and only hoped the man didn't try to draw out too much disbelief. For now, he was quite good; almost too good, actually.

"_Yes, that is what I'm telling you! Kira-dono is a man, yet he is resurrected; I have met him, and talked to him: his name is Yagami Light!_"

Light's smile became almost manic in its spread across his face. Everything was going according to his new plan. The only uncontrolled elements at this point were the fine details of the public reaction, and the fine details of his own personal situation.

He was hoping that neither his mother nor his sister had been watching that broadcast, because it might just drive them insane...but there was no time now for such concerns. Light checked his watch - 5:43.

_Time to get going._

As he was leaving, he grabbed another yukata, this one white, and wrapped it almost carelessly around himself, hiding the red silk beneath it from view. To a casual inspection, he would look like just another Kira follower; as long as no one required his identification who had watched the broadcast, his anonymity would be safe for the little while that was needed for him to reach the beach. He smiled a little, amused by that thought. It would not last long, that anonymity - not long at all.

_Before tonight is over, the world will know not only the name, but the face of its new God!_

_

* * *

_

On the walk through the city towards the bus stop he had decided on, Light was surprised to see that there was almost no one on the streets; he didn't think he had ever seen the place so empty. It looked like a ghost town; here and there he saw a few lights on, shops and restaurants open for customers and diners who had devoted themselves to something else this evening, but no one moving around, no one going in or out. At the bus stop, there were finally other people, all of them white robed and chattering excitedly, exchanging information and discussing the revelations that had been made on Sakura TV.

Smiling a little, keeping to himself, Light listened to the chatter, sampling the public opinion.

"So I said to him, of course I believe it! This is Kira we're talking about!"

"I know! It's incredible -"

"Well, I won't believe it's him until I see some proof! Do you think Lord Kira plans on punishing any evildoers tonight?"

"I bet he will!"

"Yes!"

"No way! In front of the cameras and everything? Then the whole world will know how he kills, and -"

"Shut him up, will you? As if normal humans could ever understand the power of Kira-sama!"

"You tell 'em, Masuyo!"

The words of the little group came directed at Light now, and he smiled with his back turned and wondered what they would do when they found out who they had been asking their questions of. It gave him an idea, but the details could be complex...

"Hey, you - what do you think? Is this guy really gonna be Kira-sama?"

Light turned a little, eyed the questioner through the fall of his hair. She was the one they had called Masuyo; pretty enough, a little younger than he was, but with hard eyes - eyes that said this girl had known violence, and darkness. He looked away, and his answer was almost emotionless, very soft; they were all leaning towards him now, victims of his unconscious charisma.

"Why not? Kira is human like the rest of us, so he's as likely to be that person as anyone else."

He heard muttering, grinned a little. It was Masuyo who spoke out again, her voice a little harsher this time.

"Why does Kira-sama have to be human, huh? What if he's really a god!"

Light shrugged.

"Who said humans can't be gods? We're the ones best qualified; we know what we need! Anyone, anything that isn't human, how can it presume to say what is best for humans and how we should live? Kira has done that, but in a way that proves he understands what humans need. Killing criminals, ridding the world of vicious killers, rapists, the ones who have violated our social contract the world over!"

Light calmed himself a little; it wouldn't do to go wasting his speech on these kids before he got to the main event. The girl, though - Masuyo, was looking at him with those steel-robed eyes of hers, and then she let out a little hmph and grinned in his direction.

"Guess you're right about that, Stranger-san. You're pretty smart, aren't you? I'm Masuyo Yori; Kira-sama avenged my brothers and my sister. What about you?"

Light contemplated for a moment.

"I'm....Masunori Michio. Kira avenges the whole world, Masuyo Yori; I'm not special."

"_Hmph_."

Light smiled thinly and turned his back again; momentarily the bus appeared, already almost full of white-robed and chattering Kira supporters; there was a cheer as the last of the group from Light's stop got on the bus, and he heard a swell of voices that rose quickly to a roar. It had been the last stop; they were going along now to the vigil without delay, and Light noticed that even the driver of the bus was sporting a white T-shirt and a pair of white pants. As he sat, Light made note of the girl who had spoken to him, her name and her face, and continued to listen to the flow of her conversation with her friends.

It took only ten minutes for the over-crowded bus to make its way to a parking lot at the edge of the beach; the flow of people disembarking blended in almost immediately with the greater current of individuals moving down the parking lot towards the sand, and Light saw that the beach was already packed with people, many many more than he had expected might show up. Kanzuka's announcement had more than done its work; ignoring the cackle of Ryuk from over his shoulder, and the hubbub of people moving back and forth, running around and in general causing havoc, Light moved away and hid himself behind a group of parked cars.

In the distance, at the other side of the parking lot, he saw Misa and Takari, but did not go near them; he wanted to draw no attention to himself now, it would take away from his entrance. Looking about carefully, Light seated himself on the sand a short distance away from the very edge of the group of cars, and drew out the Death Note.

"Ryuk, do me a favor and keep an eye out? There are just a few more things I need to take care of before I step out under the lights."

"Huh? Okay, Light, but what's left to do? Didn't you already set all this up?"

"Yes - but there are some people I want to make aware of my existence."

He smiled a murderous smile.

"I want them to see the broadcast of my identity, and know my victory, and then not have time to take any action against me whatsoever. It is absolutely necessary; you _do_ want your Note back, don't you Ryuk?"

The shinigami flapped behind him for a few moments, his face thoughtful.

"Yeah...but you know, I'm gonna get in trouble for giving it to you in the first place, so I dunno if how long you've got it really matters."

Light spoke firmly.

"Well, it matters to me. It's most effective to have more than one Death Note, not to mention there's still Misa to worry about; I can't have her carrying around loose pieces of the Note for too long, it's too dangerous - and without her memory she can't perform as effectively as my High Priestess."

_Never mind the fact that I know already how far I can trust you, Ryuk..._

As he turned to writing the names that concerned him in the Note, each one with its specific, perfectly-timed cause of death, Light remembered something that had struck him earlier.

"By the way, Ryuk, what did you mean when you said earlier that the Death Note's memory could only be regained a certain number of times?"

"Pretty simple, Light. Humans can only regain their memories of using a Death Note six times; after that, you can still use it, but you won't remember that you ever did before."

Light nodded slowly.

"Six times...interesting."

He sat in silence after that and finished his writing relatively quickly. The daylight was closing in on the horizon; sunset had come, the hour of his revelation.

There was, however, an unexpected problem. From where he was sitting he could see the crowded beach perfectly well, and there was no longer any pathway open between the crowd and the platform that had been built up like a stage, halfway down the sand. He could see Misa climbing the stairs from behind, the direction of the Sakura TV production crew, but if he came from that direction it was likely many of these followers would assumed he was a plant by the television station.

_How do I make an entrance? I could part the crowd, but there's a good chance I wouldn't make it to the stage._

Ryuk flapped close to him and hung his head over Light's left shoulder.

"Ready for your big debut Light?"

"Almost..."

The wind from Ryuk's wings ruffled his hair, and suddenly, an incredible idea blossomed in Light's brain.

"Ryuk! How would you like as many apples as you can possibly eat?"

He could have sworn that Ryuk's eyes bulged a little.

"Heh! Do you have any idea how many apples that would be, Light?"

Light grinned a little; this would definitely work!

"As many as you like, Ryuk, but -"

"So what d'ya want me to do?"

Light raised an eyebrow.

"Anticipating me, Ryuk? Yes, there's something I'd like you to do. Remember way back when you first came to me, and told me about the eye deal? Do you remember what I said?"

Ryuk scratched his head, shrugged.

"Just that you said you'd never do it -"

"Not exactly, Ryuk; I said that if it was wings, I might have considered it. So what about it, Ryuk - will you fly me over to the stage?"

Ryuk stared at him for a moment as if were stone-cold crazy, and then leaned back slowly, laughing more deeply than Light had yet heard.

"Carry you? Fly you? Yeah, I can do that - but you know, anyone who's touched a Death Note will be able to see me, Light, so all those guys -"

Light smiled.

"That's what makes it so perfect, Ryuk. Come on; it's time."

Ryuk shrugged.

"Alright, but you better hold on. If I drop you, you'll die - and then I'll get in some _real_ trouble!"

Light discarded his white outer robe and straightened the seams of his brilliant red yukata. Ryuk grabbed him under the arms and seemed to strain for a few seconds - and then they were aloft.

"Go down to the right, Ryuk; can you hover for a second?"

_Come on, Misa! Look up!_

Ryuk swooped down, and Light heard Misa's intake of breath even from where he was in the air, and smiled.

_Good girl._

"Kira-sama! It is Kira-sama, Kira-sama-"

Immediately, all the attention of the crowd, every eye, every camera, was on Light's descending figure. Only Misa could see that it was Ryuk holding him suspended in the air; the others, Takari included, saw only Light coming down from over the crowd. There was a great, swelling shout, and Light wondered what Misa had been saying to them before he had shown up; there was less distrust in this audience than he had expected.

Slowly, Ryuk let him down onto the stage-platform, and the swell of people, the cries of _Kira-sama _and _Kira-dono _and _Lord Kira_, _Lord Kira_!, rose around him and beat against him and supported him; he could feel, like binding threads, the will of the people. Light looked out over the gathering, felt a warm pulse of adoration, carried on the shout of his name, and basked in it.

He raised his hands, calling for silence, and almost immediately a tense and waiting stillness fell over the crowd.

"My people; welcome. I am Yagami Light; I am Kira. I have come here to reveal myself, to illuminate the path to our new world."

* * *

A/N: Kira reveals himself, finally! But what was he writing in the Death Note? Who is going to die next? How many apples can Ryuk actually eat? Coming Soon: The Vigil!

Much thanks to my reviewers!

MeddmaLyd - Ah, typos! The bane of my existence! I try to get them all out, but after a while of re-reading the same chapter I think my brain starts to just skip over that stuff! I like giving Light some creepiness - I mean...he's _Kira_, a mass-murdering justice fanatic who thinks that he's God. That tilts the scales a little bit...heh. But behold! The suspense has ended, and Light flew! Ahh, I so wanted to see that the whole time I was watching and reading Death Note!

And Naruto Namikaze the Legend: I have no idea, but as long as I get a few, I'm happy! Thanks for taking the time to review!

Everyone else - push the button! It's magical! (and easy!) So Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

VII.

The Kingdom and The Power

* * *

By the time the sky had grown dark with sunset-shadows, Misa and Takari had made all the preparations necessary for Kanzuka's broadcast. Bright electric lights were strung along the sides of a makeshift platform that would serve for a stage. The two of them were shining under the florescent glow in white, flowing robes. A black curtain had been lowered over a tall bar at the back of the platform to block out the equipment and moving people that were accumulating, but it also made an excellent backdrop.

A second curtain had been dropped across the front of the platform to hide the stage from the crowd, and Misa kept peeping out through it at the flickering faces of the audience. She could hear voices raised in song, and in prayer; a few of those nearest the edge of the platform were looking up with rapt faces as if waiting for God to descend from on high.

She was pleased by the general mood of the assembled believers - and the crowd was huge! There had certainly been enough people gathered in front of the TV station; she had expected a few hundred people from the area to show up, maybe even as many as a thousand. Instead, the pair of broadcasts announcing the vigil and Kira's identity had been shown often enough, and over a wide enough area, that many of the viewers of Sakura TV from all over Japan had had time to get themselves to the designated beach.

_Maybe I should have picked a bigger place!_

The sand in front of the platform and around both sides was already packed, and there was still ten minutes before the vigil was set to begin. Misa turned to Takari, who was standing nervously behind her, and surprised him with her warm, friendly tone.

"Hey, Takari-kun, have the last buses arrived yet?"

"U-uh! No, Misa-sama – I mean, High Priestess!"

Misa grinned. Being High Priestess for Light was the best fun she had had with him so far – better than taking on L, and less dangerous...and more rewarding than staring at endless screens looking for Near.

_Near! I hope Light gets him good! I wonder how he's going to kill him? Maybe Light'll let me read what he wrote down..._

Thinking of her Light and his vengeance gave her face a dark and exultant expression, and Takari turned respectfully away from the rapture of his High Priestess. He was just in time to be confronted by Kanzuka.

"Hey, you – Doctor! Doctor, you come with me now, we've got to get these documents scanned into the system and verified! Kanzuka was waving Light's death certificate around in one hand and his birth certificate and police ID in the other.

"Oh, right. High Priestess, should I -"

"Just call me Misa, Takari-kun, unless there are people watching, or Kira-sama says so. Now go on, Kanzuka isn't really the patient type!"

Misa waved him off as he attempted to bow repeatedly, and turned back to her view through the curtain. In the few minutes their little exchange had taken, the crowd had continued to swell; she couldn't even seen the limits of the gathering now. Neither could she see how anyone else was possibly going to fit into the tightly packed space before the platform, but chattering groups were still filing off buses, out of cars, and off of the boardwalks. As she watched, the boardwalks jammed with spectators as there literally was no room for them; they had pushed _standing room only _to its maximum application.

"Misa-sama! Are you ready for the cameras?"

Kanzuka was back, but Misa noted that he was much more respectful with her now that Kira had – apparently - proven himself. As soon as the criminals that Light had named over the phone had died, he had secured Kanzuka's trust – and while Misa was not sure that Kanzuka was truly a believer in the divinity and mission of Kira, she _knew_ he was a believer in cold, hard cash.

_And airing this broadcast is going to make a _ton_ of money, I know that! Misa-Misa should get some, or at least Light should buy me something nice..._

She shook her head; now was not the time for such thoughts! She had to be the High Priestess now; Kanzuka was waiting, and so were Light and thousands of people.

_I have to give Kira-sama a good introduction so he will be proud of his Misa!_

"I'm ready, Kanzuka-san. Has Kira-sama arrived yet?"

"Huh? Kira-sama? No, Kira-sama informed me by telephone that he would take care of his own arrival and that we should just make sure everything starts exactly on time. Down to the second, he wants it! That means you've got three minutes, Misa-sama, and then we start!"

Misa took deep breaths, and let them out slowly. She had rehearsed carefully what she was going to say, but there hadn't been much time; it was difficult, without Light's approval – but she was reasonably sure he would be happy. Takari had agreed to the parts that had been assigned to him without question, and had proved his intelligence by quickly memorizing his few lines. He'd been helpful, too, in writing out the words that Misa had prepared for herself, and his stuttering formality had somehow reminded her more than ever of Matsuda.

_Two minutes left now._

She felt a sort of bubbling excitement just beneath the surface, a wave of joy that was waiting to overflow. She had begun to doubt, had even believed that Light had finally been defeated, that he had been killed – but now everything that had been promised to her was coming true. She could see it glittering just within reach; a perfect future, a world without violence, without despair, a world where justice was dispensed equitably by Kira-sama...her Light.

"It's..._amazing_."

She whispered the words faintly to herself.

_One minute...guess I should be in place now._

Misa took one last look through the curtain at the still-growing crowd, and then walked lightly back towards the side of the platform where she was supposed to enter the view of the cameras. She heard a crash, and then Kanzuka shouting, and a rapid shuffle to put something back into place – and then the curtains were pulling open and Misa was walking forward into the sudden glare of a dozen brilliant lights and the near-instantaneous hush of thousands of voices.

Misa took a deep breath and addressed the silence with as much dignity and force as she could muster. The sound of her own voice surprised her, blaring loudly from hidden speakers; the crowd had gone so quiet that she wished Kanzuka would turn the sound down a little.

"Believers, we are gathered here in the name of Lord Kira; we seek to call him to us, who has given justice to so many of those gathered here! Who among you has been saved by Kira; who among you sleeps easier because of his Great Work?"

She was answered by a mighty shout of affirmation.

"Yes! We all have been blessed by Kira-sama's watchful presence, by his commitment to true justice! He delivers us from evil and from the false promises of our leaders!"

She heard muttering at that, a wave of whispers that moved through the crowd, but she had been prepared for some of their contention.

"Yes – false promises, I said! What president, what prime minister, what governor, mayor, principal, _parent_, has not promised peace? Less crime? Safer streets, safer schools? But I ask you - _who has fulfilled these promises_?"

There was silence.

" It was not the governments of the nations that brought down the criminal's reign of terror! Those governments sought to destroy the one who came with Justice; those governments sought to protect the criminals who had transgressed against the people! The _true_ believers among you know who it was that saved you; you know who your lord must be!"

Misa's words ended on a passionate cry; she panted briefly as the assembly in front of her answered her words with a subdued and rumbling roar.

"Kira, Kira-sama! Kira!"

She had put her heart and soul into her words, had slaved over them with Takari's help and Kanzuka's occasional interjection. _She_ wanted Light's approval as badly as she was making the crowd want it. He was not yet there to watch, but even without his supervision Misa was doing exactly what Light had foreseen she would do - she was becoming his perfect disciple.

Out of the corner of her eye, Misa saw Kanzuka trying to get her attention. Takari was at his side, and Kanzuka held up one finger; Misa gave him the barest nod. Quieter now, her hand in the air to calm the shattering noise, Misa resumed speaking.

"Yes; Kira-sama. But Kira-sama was not always our lord. Kira-sama was born of a woman; like any of us He was given a name, like any of us, he grew to manhood on this earth. Before Kira-sama was Kira-sama, He was Yagami Light."

The roar had faded into a low chant. Misa saw candles being lit here and there, their light swaying back and forth with the rhythm of Kira's name.

"As Yagami Light, Kira-sama saw the suffering that was spread throughout the world, and suffered for it Himself, until one day the knowledge came to Him that He possessed the power of God, the power that has made Him Kira-sama. And He took that name unto Himself, for it was bestowed on him by the first believers; and He began to judge men for their most terrible crimes, sending them into Nothingness."

More candles were flickering to life now in the crowd, tiny red and orange glimmers of light, as people looked around and realized what others were doing. Misa watched the mouths open and close, not in unison but all making the same shapes, the same name. _Kira-sama_. In the firelight of a thousand candles, the faces beneath her took on an unearthly glow; fitting, she thought.

"For a time, all was well. Yet among the men on earth are some so wicked that even faced with Justice they seek to destroy. Hunted by such men, sought by the very forces which once were responsible for our safety – police, national Army, FBI - Kira-sama remained in secret, continuing His Great Work and revealing Himself only through His Purpose."

Misa's words had taken on the tone of scripture, but none of those listening seemed surprised or disappointed. This was their own personal Holy Story; this was the new Word, the Book of Revelations for the new age. The rhythm of the swaying candles had changed to match the rhythm of Misa's words; the chant of _Kira-sama, Kira-sama_, had faded to a faint and eerie croon as soft as the whisper of a single voice, but made up of many.

"Despite His care, Kira-sama, without even the protection and care of His family by His side, was nearly discovered. Kira-sama might even then have suffered the violence which was recently done to him; but it was then that Kira found _me_, and knew that He had come across a true and worthy believer. He named me His High Priestess, and shared with me His Holy Purpose and His Holy Power."

Misa flushed faintly, to talk about herself that way, but Takari and Kanzuka had both assured her it was necessary. She could see Kanzuka still out of the corner of her eye, gesturing frantically with both hands for her to hurry it along. She turned back to the crowd and ignored him. It was the mood that was important here, getting all these people ready for Light's appearance. Didn't the man understand that?

_Still, Light will be angry if everything doesn't happen on time. _

She spoke a little faster.

"Even with me by his side, Kira-sama was forced to fight every step of the way; the old powers and their evil did not wish to give way. Finally, overcome by numbers, betrayed by those He might have trusted to aid him in his Work, Kira-sama was killed, and fell into Darkness!"

A great moan arose from the assembled watchers, and Misa continued in a hushed tone.

"His enemies left Him to celebrate their victory. For three days, Kira-sama slept in Nothingness, the sleep of all who are dead, and on the third day, in the early hours of this very morning, He rose again. He is come to answer the cries of the Faithful who have need!"

It was the most fantastic claim that had been made about any one man in two thousand years; twelve hours earlier Misa wouldn't have believed it herself – but then she had seen Light, dead and still...and then talked to him, heard his voice and touched him. The crowd beneath her had been mostly lulled by the tale in her words – and they were ready to believe fantastic things. Kira's power had made them ready.

Still, there were a few who were unwilling to believe that Kira could really have been touched in such a divine way. After a moment of muttering, Misa heard the cry that she had been waiting for, the words of truth:

"Prove it!"

It was one voice at first, faint and female, and then it was joined by others; not many, considering the size of the crowd, but enough to make themselves heard. Misa smiled, and that reaction was enough to calm a great deal of the noise.

"Prove it?"

She waited for another moment, let that cry hang in the air, and then opened her arms wide.

"If it is proof you need, then this man is the one to ask. Takari Lin, one of the Chosen of Kira, step forward and be known!"

There was muttering again, indrawn breaths as Takari stepped forward. Anyone who had watched the second broadcast had seen his face before, heard his words, but there was something more than just the truth he brought in his manner now; perhaps it was having a live audience. Misa couldn't be sure what exactly was motivating him – but she _was_ impressed.

Takari took six steps forward and stopped directly in front of Misa. Overhead, a projection blinked itself to life against the black curtain, displaying in clear characters a signed and officially noted death certificate for one Yagami Light. Next to it, just as clear, just as official, were shown his birth certificate and University photo ID.

It was the first time Light's face and name had been shown together, and deep in the crowd there was a startled contraction as a young woman and her friends stared up at the rippling image in disbelief. Masuyo Yori had finally realized who she had accosted at the bus stop, and her heart was pounding against her ribs. What was the name she had been given – Masunori...Masunori Michio? How could she not have guessed?

But from the stage, the confusion and fear of Masuyo Yori and her companions was invisible. On his knees, Takari scanned the crowd and missed them entirely; he let his head fall back against his shoulders and raised up his arms as if he sought to summon down heaven. His eyes closed, and his voice projected powerfully, all the stutters drained from his voice

"Fellow believers, here is your proof! This morning, I was like many of you; I believed in the mission of Kira, I desired his New World of peace, but I did not believe that I myself had any value. Before my eyes, Yagami Light stood and spoke, though the proclamation of his death was three days old. Without asking, he knew my name – and my companion in the sight of this miracle fell dead in the very moment of Kira-sama's arising!"

Takari opened his eyes and stared out across the crowd with visible fervor. There was a new murmur over the unending chant, louder now, more fervent; the supplicants were restless with desire. Misa stepped forward and held out her hands to the crowd, smiling a smile of divine ecstasy.

"Call out to our lord; Call out to him -"

And at the moment, something, perhaps instinct, made her look up. Her gasp of breath was audible, a loud noise on the speakers, and as it escaped her every eye focused on her, and then followed her sharply pointing finger. She saw Light, descending in Ryuk's hands – and realized abruptly that no one else could see the shinigami; to their eyes, this moment was truly divine.

"Kira-sama! It is Kira-sama, Kira-sama -!"

Light stepped onto the stage in front of her, and smiled down at the people, raised his hands to them. Out of the corner of her eye, Misa watched Ryuk flutter backward across the stage, his face set in a wide grin.

_Wow, Light..._

He spoke easily, authoritatively; Misa was reminded of the first time she had met him, the easy charisma and its spell-binding power.

"My people, welcome! I am Yagami Light; I am Kira. I have come here to reveal myself, to illuminate the path to our New World."

A shiver crawled up Misa's spine, turned her skin cold despite the warm breeze coming over the water. This was it, everything she had ever hoped for; this was the moment when all the dreams began to make themselves true. The shiver became heat, a red blossom that opened in her middle and clambered happily in her veins, searching out a home.

_Light_.

Yes; Light.

_Kira-sama. _

She shuddered, and fell down onto her knees.

* * *

In a darkened room somewhere in the northeast United States, a boy just on the edge of adulthood sat in the light from a dozen flickering television screens. For the first time in years, his fingers were still, his toys discarded; his eyes scanned each television in blinks, but the multiple screens were not necessary. They were all filled with faces and voices promising the same thing - an impossible thing.

_Return of Kira! But how?_

The thoughts of _N _were clinical; he dove deep into an internal well of information and accumulated knowledge, but all of that still failed to give him any workable symbols to deal with this turn of events.

_Is he really alive?_

Over and over, his eyes returned from their glazed internal stare to peruse the television screens. The young woman he knew; Misa Amane. He could hear Light crying out in those supposed-last moments, calling for his Misa; but the man who was with Misa, introduced as Takari Lin, _N_ had no knowledge of.

_Where are you...Kira?_

But at that moment, Light himself appeared on the screens; each station showed a different wild, swinging view for a moment as their respective cameramen refocused on the red-robed figure descending from the glittering sky.

His calm fled in that instant. _N_ darted upright and across the room and made as if to pause the screens, but there was no need. The apparition of the shinigami that he had worried was a hallucination did not disappear; as Light landed on the stage-platform beside Misa and the strange man, the shinigami took a step backward and relaxed into a hovering crouch, the great wings beating gently.

_N_'s eyes took in the sight of Light and for a moment, fear washed through him like ice. Perhaps this was truly an opponent it was impossible to defeat.

_I saw his body with my own eyes, breathless; I saw the bullets hit him, and I saw the shinigami write his name._

The information clicked coldly into place, but the fact of what his eyes observed could not be denied. For a moment, he wondered if it would be worthwhile going into hiding, but discarded the idea immediately. If Light had truly resurrected himself...what would be the point? His name and face were known now; that was all that was needed.

His eyes trekked across the room to the darkest corner, away from the blue glimmer of the TV light to the darkness where a pair of evil objects sat waiting, a living weight on his thoughts.

_Irrevocably evil; an instrument of death, and death only. But..._

For three days, the Notebooks had stared at him from their corner, and he confessed himself...disturbed by their presence. Unsure. For a moment, a rush of anger filled him.

_I should have destroyed them; is there time now?_

If there had been an incinerator in the room with him he would have leapt up to fling them in; there was no doubt in him that the hours, perhaps even the minutes of his life were numbered. And he paused, wondering what kind of death was in store for him. How would it happen? Would he be aware, for the short moments during which his consciousness clung to this flesh?

_I could kill myself now and spare him the satisfaction...but then perhaps, that is what he intends and even now I am on a road that goes one way only. _

His fingers were steady as he lifted a Lego from the floor where he had let it fall, and turned it back and forth. The yellow plastic surface picked up reflections from the moving television images and he considered his options; he was not sure he had any.

_The Death Note can kill from anywhere, can control my actions...the time and means of my death. _

And he wondered if he would even know when it happened; if he would be aware of the theft of his body's sovereignty.

He felt something threatening, an emotion outside his experience, and still knew it for panic.

_What now?_

His eyes turned, and he found himself staring at the televisions again, their many views of Light; he couldn't hear the speech Light was making clearly, but the roar of the people gathered in front of him was terrifying. Were human beings really so witless, so so easily manipulated by an evil, charismatic man?

There were other instances in his memory, in history; he knew the answer. Now, they called him Kira, they called him God; but in the mind of Nate River he was murderer of the masses_. _As Kira, Yagami Light had killed more people with his own two hands than any one man _N_ had seen or heard of. And yet, somehow...it seemed that he himself could not be killed.

_The shinigami. The shinigami has something to do with this._

As he stood and turned away from the television, made for the Death Notes in the corner, he considered how unlikely it was that he would ever find out what happened.

_My only failure; just like _L_. Why did you win, Kira? If there are shinigami, aren't there Gods somewhere too? Someone to look down and save us all_.

A frown, a grin, a grimace contorted his face, and he felt the smooth, otherworldly surface of the Death Note sliding against his fingers and suddenly felt...empty.

_What....now?_

He knew suddenly that he was going to bury these Death Notes; yes. That was it. Bury them deep and dark, beyond all knowledge. Bury them. Somewhere....

* * *

On the stage, Kira stood smiling benevolently out over the crowd; his greeting had been received with a roar of approval. He could hear his own name being chanted with the reverence of monks in a painted cathedral, but thousands of voices strong.

He stood silently for a moment, accepting their adulation. The dying gasp of the sunset outlined his red yukata, against the purple-faded sky, and suddenly he was haloed by a bloody glow that called out the promise of death to thousands of waiting white clad disciples. Some of the people had been pressed back into the water; some waist deep, others standing neck high in the chilly sea. There were people half-drowned in their attempt to get close to him; he saw men climbing on each others shoulders, women clawing forward over the crowd, their distant fingers reaching, reaching to be just another inch closer to the Holy Presence.

And then, from behind the gasping, floundering crowd came _boats_. There were rowboats, flimsy rafts, motorized craft and fishing trawlers; there were people crowded into every inch of railing space, people overflowing from hatches and diving free to join the clambering mob at the edges of the beach.

Kira raised his hands then, as the people began to leap from the boats, and as he did so a wave of silence moved from the front rows of the crowd all the way back. For a moment there were only ocean sounds – waves, birds, wind. And then -

"My people."

There was a whisper of answer, a hum of sustained sound that was lower even that the chant had been.

"I have come here, I have revealed myself finally, because the work of my Priestess is worthy of my attention – and because it is known to me that I cannot continue my work in secret any longer. My dream is not for me, but for all mankind, and all mankind must therefore be my partner in it."

His voice was calm, his expression eager, kindly, his eyes magnetic.

"You have been told how I suffered, but it is of no matter; those who seek to harm me can do nothing which is not already written."

His smile changed a little, became faintly sarcastic. Not many would see it; fewer still would recognize it for what it was – but he knew those few, and had designed these moments especially for them. This was his _victory_, and he wanted to take that victory and use it to crush the life out of each and every one of those who had defied him.

_Except you, _N_. But you aren't worthy of the punishment I'm giving you; it should be _L _waiting in your place now; it should be_ L_ who gets to go down in a blaze of glory. Ah, well. It's the thought that counts, after all. _

But he had other, more immediate concerns. It was nearly time for things to start happening; he allowed his eyes to dart down to his wrist, glanced at his watch.

_Ten seconds_.

Perfect.

* * *

A/N: And finally, another chapter! Sorry that took so long; I'm at the end of the semester and not only is everything due for everything, but I have finals the next two weeks and I've been exhausting my brain (and my fingers!) And Light requires brain! Writing someone who is a genius is tiring, ah...but anyway, ta-da! A lot of things are going to happen very quickly, so I thought I'd put in a little of Near so we could see what was going on with him! But exactly what Light thinks is so perfect...well, next chapter, of course!

Now, I got many awesome reviews, so I'm not sure where to start...at the beginning, right? :D

Naruto Namikaze the Legend: Much thanks! :D

Zero Panda: Also much thanks! I'm pretty sure that we'll see exactly what Light wrote in the Death Note, and for who, in the next chapter - probably from Misa or Ryuk's point of view.

ObsidianTheatre: Firstly, have to thank you for your compliment - I do try hard to be evil and a mastermind, so - :D. But you've also mentioned one of my favorite loopholes. I like to think of it like this; Ryuk, as a shinigami, cannot willfully extend a humans life beyond its natural span without dying. _But_, in the case of Light, Ryuk is not extending Light's lifespan, he is merely undoing his shortening of it. I thought about this for a while after I first read the pilot, and that seems to make the most sense. Never mind anything else, it would be kind of silly for the Death Eraser to exist if there weren't circumstances in which a shinigami could use it (without dying!) I've been swamped by school and finals, so I haven't had a chance to look at your fiction yet, but I will as soon as I get a chance!

And last but not least, Kleptographer of Alternates: Another great review, for which I must thank you! I have a lot of fun with the characters in Death Note; each one has particular quirks and psychological aspects which are interesting to explore and deal with. Light's evil genius is especially interesting. As far as Death Note loopholes go, I think of the Death Eraser two ways. One, it's not an ordinary eraser; it comes from the same stuff and the same place as the Death Note, so it isn't like trying to erase your pencil writing in the Death Note with the pencil's eraser. Second, the Death Eraser doesn't prevent the Death Note from doing its thing; it reverses the Death after it has been caused. As of yet, no one's tried erasing the name of someone who hasn't died yet!

So! Finals this week and then next, and then I'm free for the summer, so more soon! Please Review!


	8. Chapter 8

VIII.

The Illusion of Truth

* * *

_From his place at the back corner of the stage, Ryuk could clearly see both the crowd, and his primary object of interest: Light. There was no doubt that his time spent on earth so far had been the most interesting of his time as a shinigami, and since he couldn't remember anything else, that counted for a lot, in his opinion. _

_And really, it wasn't like anyone else's opinion mattered to him...except maybe Light himself. The moment that thought occurred to him he leered grotesquely at the nearest camera, hoping someone was watching closely who could see him. Ryuk had spent centuries ignoring the opinions of his fellow shinigami – he wasn't suddenly going to care about what a human thought! _

_**Ridiculous!**_

_Disregarding his own thoughts, Ryuk pushed his features into an even more gruesome expression and flew right at the camera, right up close until his eye was pressed against the glass of the camera lens_

"Boo!"

_He chuckled to himself under his breath as he passed back and forth between the cameras. Hopefully somebody good was watching..._

* * *

"Ahh! What the - !"

In the break room behind the Chief's office, Matsuda yelled and pushed himself back away from the television so hard his chair toppled and he fell over backwards. Grinning horrendously, filling up the whole of the screen Matsuda had just turned on, was a face he had never expected to see again – and saying boo like that!

_The shinigami! On television, it is on television! What's going on!_

He, as well as the rest of the surviving team members, had assumed that the shinigami had returned to wherever it came from when it had killed Kira. The last few days, the thing had all but disappeared from their minds – as much as any such thing could. It was remarkably easy not to think about when the thing wasn't staring him in the face.

With a shudder, Matsuda changed the channel – and then let out another startled yelp. The shinigami was on that one too! Frantically, one after another he flipped through the display, and finally after twelve or fifteen channels he found one that wasn't showing grinning Death. Matsuda let out a little sigh, and then stiffened again immediately – he could still see it!

Quite suddenly the real implication of what he was seeing came over him, and he blinked quickly, looked down at the remote.

_All the channels are showing the same thing! That's why the shinigami is on all of them. But what's so important that it's taken over the whole television?_

Ignoring the hovering figure of the shinigami that was moving back and forth between a few different cameras, Matsuda turned up the sound as the view panned across a seething, murmuring crowd. His fingers froze on the remote as he heard the voice of the figure on the stage, an impossible voice – _Yagami Light's _voice.

He had changed the channel just in time to hear the end of a sentence, and he knew that those tones, the precise and perfect words, could not possibly have been faked or imitated. His ears rang with Light's – no, _Kira's – _words. His fingers twitched, and then spasmed; he changed channels frantically again.

_One of these stations has to have a closeup on the guy who's talking – it can't be, it can't be!_

He stopped at Sakura Television's dedicated station, and saw there a face that he had thought never to see again. It was Light, definitely Light; not only his voice, but his stance, his movements, his vast and pulsating charisma.

_How? How? I shot him, I shot him, I emptied my clip at him – and that shinigami, I saw it! He wrote Light's name..._

"**You have been told how I suffered, but it is of no matter; those who seek to harm me can do nothing which is not already written.**"

Matsuda knew in that moment that he would die, and that there was nothing he could do about it. His attention was momentarily frozen on the television screen.

"**We are standing on the brink of a new age, an age of peace, of justice, of enlightenment; we are entering a Golden Age for all mankind. From the ashes of our many civilizations, founded on murder and mistrust, will spring a new world, bright as a phoenix. We will create a world in which our children can learn and grow in peace and safety, we will make an example...**"

The sudden sound of loud voices in the hallway brought Matsuda back to himself. The others! If they didn't know, they needed to – now! He dashed out of the break room, around the corner, and down the hall towards the interview rooms.

"Aizawa! Aizawa!"

* * *

Aizawa was standing outside the only room in the whole station that actually had a criminal in it – not that the person in question had done much of anything, but the police force was grasping at straws these days. It was, he reflected, one of the side effects of not announcing Kira's demise; lawbreakers were still shy of committing the crimes that could get them killed – or rather, caught.

The young woman sitting in the room in front of him was the first person to be brought in in over a week, and she was a sad case – her file showed that she had been diagnosed as a kleptomaniac, and this was her sixth arrest for petty shoplifting. For a moment, as he leaned his head on his arm and looked through the one-way glass at the frightened, sobbing woman, he wondered if, after all, they had done the right thing in eliminating Kira. It was the first time he had admitted the thought to his consciousness; once there, it spawned a whole army of doubts.

Had they done anything more than ensure the survival of the police? Had they only reacted to a method beyond their moral ability to judge – a method that had urged them to act through visceral fear? Would the world really be better off, without someone sitting in righteous judgment over those who slipped through the cracks of the justice system?

_Doubts...doubts...no good now. _

Aizawa was not a religious man, but his deepest objection to Kira's claim – Yagami Light's claim – had been the godhood he had taken for himself. Not as a man over other men, but as a god over lesser beings, that was how Kira saw himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout, his own name echoing loudly down the corridor.

"Aizawa! Aizawa!"

Matsuda slid to a stop in the corridor and bent over, panting, one hand on the wall.

"What's up, Matsuda? I haven't seen you this -"

"Aizawa! Go watch the TV! Any channel – they've – it's – it's Kira! Light is alive, and he's got that shinigami with him!"

Aizawa was thoroughly stunned.

"You...what? Matsuda, are you sure?"

"The TV! I saw him myself – it's definitely Kira! Where're Ide and Mogi?"

"They've...they've got the day off..."

Matsuda had already pulled out his phone and was dialing; Aizawa stared at him for a moment, and then strode briskly down the corridor towards the break room Matsuda had deserted. Halfway he broke into a run; he was sprinting when he burst through the half-open door. The television was still on; the channel it was turned to was currently displaying a face he had never thought to see again, in dramatic closeup.

_Yagami Light! Kira! We killed you – we defeated you – why are you alive?_

Aizawa felt a shiver of fear; quickly, he flipped through the different channels, and finally stopped on one that was rebroadcasting what the major networks had already shown. This shot showed the whole stage-platform, and he could pick out each figure on the stage; most of them he knew – Kira himself, Misa, the unnatural figure of the shinigami, making faces at a camera. There was a man who looked vaguely familiar whose face he couldn't put a name to, but he broke off studying faces to listen to what Kira was saying.

"**...we will make an example of evil and expel it from our lives! In the dreams of every people is a paradise lost somewhere in our common past. It is that paradise which I choose to seek hand in hand with humanity; it is that paradise which we will unearth from beneath the black memory of ten thousand years of despair! I ask you, not in my name, but in the name of humanity -**"

Aizawa stumbled backwards and put his head in his hands. He could no longer listen, but he couldn't drown out Light's voice. Quietly, his own doubts leapt up again to claim him.

* * *

The phone rang four times in Mogi's pocket before he was able to fumble his chopsticks and take-out dinner into one hand so the other was free to answer the phone.

"Mogi here - "

"Mogi, it's Matsuda! Are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm alone. What's -"

"If I tell you, you won't believe me. Go watch the television – every channel is showing the same thing."

"But I was going to -"

"Go watch the television! It's – it's about Kira, Mogi, that's all I'm gonna say. I have to go call Ide – swear to me you'll go see -"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop at home before I go out. I was thinking about going there now anyway."

"Do it."

There was an abrupt click; the line went dead, and Mogi stared at the phone in his hand for a long moment, before he realized soy sauce was dripping down his hand.

"Oh! Dinner, right. But Kira...Kira's dead. What could possibly..."

His thoughts trailed off; he was very confused. Usual Matsuda phone calls were overexcited and easy to dismiss. This one...he had sounded serious, and that in and of itself was a very curious thing.

_Kira...Yagami Light. _

He made up his mind quickly, and closed up his dinner and put it on the passenger seat. He made his way down the empty streets towards his apartment three blocks away, and it was then that he noticed the streets _were_ empty. No one was walking or driving; there weren't even cars parked on the street.

_And I didn't have to wait for my oden...that shop always has a long line._

The silence of the city, previously unnoticed, was now disturbing. He made his way from the garage where he parked his car up to his apartment on the fifth floor without seeing anyone; the hall, too, was utterly silent. He was...unnerved.

Inside, he made his quickly to the television and turned it on. Immediately he was assailed with the sounds of voices, hundreds, thousands of voices. They were chanting for Kira, and he was at once fascinated and disgusted. What was wrong with these people? Kira was a killer, a mass murderer!

_And he's dead; somebody's going to have to tell them that eventually...when we can figure out how not to release his name. Or how he was killing. _

He switched the channel, and fell backward from his knees onto his back. Slowly, he pulled himself up again. The screen was showing Yagami Light descending from the sky in the hold of that shinigami!

_He's dead!_ _He's dead, how could he be – he's dead!_

He changed the channel again, but it was worse. The camera of this station had focused on Kira's face in closeup; it was Light's face, unchanged from how it had been just before his death; there was a glint of power in his eyes that had always been concealed before, but now that it was openly showing Mogi could not understand how he had ever missed it. How could the son of such a great man be so evil?

Again, he clicked the remote; Misa, talking. Again, and it was Kira once more, his voice rich and charismatic:

"**I ask you, not in my name, but in the name of humanity, to take up my cause – Justice, for those who have suffered at the hands of murderers and rapists, thieves and deviants! Justice, for the ones who have been kept in the dark by those who promised enlightenment! Justice, for every man, woman and child kept in fear or privation by those who promised to govern with equanimity! It is time, my people...**"

Mogi sat stunned; he was going nowhere, would see no one tonight. Part of him was afraid; part of him calmly observed that fear was foolish – fear was for the unknown, and it was a certainty that he was going to die.

What was there to be afraid of about that?

* * *

Ide's phone only rang once, and Matsuda didn't have to say anything; Ide was already well aware of the developing...situation.

"Matsuda, I'm already watching it. Do the others -"

"I've called Mogi, and Aizawa's in the break room taking it in right now."

"Did anyone think of calling _N_?"

Ide could have sworn he heard a faint hiccup of laughter from the other end of the line.

"You think he doesn't know? You think we have time to plan anything? You think there's really a _point_? Light – Kira – he was _dead_, Ide! Dead, and he definitely isn't now! What could we possibly do to someone like that?"

Matsuda's voice was faintly hysterical, but for once Ide honestly couldn't blame him.

"I don't know."

The blunt, honest answer had the unexpected effect of calming Matsuda down somewhat.

"Listen, Matsuda...chances are, you're right. We don't have a chance to do anything. He knows our names and faces, and we're all going to die whenever he wants us to. Aizawa is at the station with you...where is Mogi?"

"Probably at his apartment-"

"I will go down now to pick him up; we will be at the station in five minutes. No one's on the road, and I have an emergency siren in the trunk. Wait carefully – and stay with Aizawa. Remember, the Death Notes can control behavior. If either of you start acting strangely, perhaps the other will have a chance to stop it. We have the advantage of knowing what's going on, after all."

Ide's calm, deliberate words further calmed Matsuda. Ide heard a couple deep breaths, and then a huff of exhalation.

"Right. Will do. See you when you get here – and be_ careful_."

There was a click as the line disconnected, and Ide got up, put his keys in his pocket, and shut the door firmly behind him.

Chance, good luck, and a relatively long friendship had brought Ide and Mogi to live in the same apartment building – as fellow bachelors, police officers, and admirers of Yagami senior, they had much in common and had had several good conversations over sake during the course of the long, and often profitless Kira investigation.

Mogi was four floors down; Ide took the stairs, made his way down two long hallways, and then pushed open the door into Mogi's apartment – it hadn't even been closed all the way – and found his colleague on the floor staring at the television. It was a bright glare in the darkened apartment that grew brighter as the camera panned over the white-robed crowds pushing towards the edge of the stage platform and then dimmer again as the focus returned to Kira.

"**It is time, my people, for us to come together as one united front, for the good nature in the human soul to finally outweigh the bad. Let those who so choose be anointed the Chosen of Kira!**"

And though the gathered thousands heard nothing, Ide and Mogi shuddered at the sound of unnatural laughter; they knew to whom it belonged.

"Come on, Mogi. Aizawa and Matsuda are waiting for us at the station. If we are going to die, we should die together – the last four fighters against Kira."

"Yes. Yes, let's do that. You want to drive, or shall I?"

* * *

Gathered together, Ide, Mogi, Matsuda and Aizawa were sitting in a semi-circle around the television. They had all seen Light's whole speech now, and as he stepped backward at the end of it there were tears and sighs and shouts and screams of devotion from the crowd that had silenced itself at his merest gesture.

Some of the people were obviously appointing themselves "Kira's Chosen" on the spot; many had fallen to the ground in ecstatic convulsions and there were still people trying to push forward from the sea; none of the four men watching could be sure that there weren't drowned bodies being shoved around amongst those in the deepest water, so many people were screaming and choking in their attempts to get closer to Kira.

Suddenly the shinigami's face was in the camera again; Matsuda let out a yelp and only Mogi's hand on his shoulder kept him from sliding off his chair onto the floor.

"Come on, Matsuda, it's not like you haven't seen it before -"

"I know, I know! It's just when it pops up like that -"

"Well, try to have a little more dignity – we're trying to die like heroes, here."

There was a moment of complete silence, and then the room was full of laughter. After a minute or so the four men turned their attention back to the television; something was happening in the crowd and the camera was swaying around like mad trying to keep track of someone – a woman, it looked like – who seemed intent on rushing the stage.

* * *

Light had ended his speech exactly when he had planned, at seven o'clock precisely. Just as he was stepping back, he heard a loud series of shouts from very close to the edge of the platform. The noise from the crowd was changing quickly. There had been a sustained, continual hum, a chant of breathless sound beneath all the other noises of thousands of people crammed together in far too little space. Now that hum was being disrupted; he heard screams, more shouts, and then a loud _No!_

He could not see exactly what was happening, but Takari could see perfectly clearly – a dark haired young woman, her mouth moving to form words that were lost in the distance between them. As if in slow motion, Takari saw her struggling with one of the men in the thin line of security that Sakura Television had provided. He saw her hands slide around the man, and one of them grabbed something from beneath his shirt.

Time returned to normal speed as the woman swung her hand around and pointed the gun at the stage, at Kira-sama! She pulled the trigger; Takari dove across her path and felt a sharp sting in his chest...and then nothing. He breathed twice; blood flowed from his mouth, and then he was dead.

Light stood totally still, a food behind Takari's fallen body, and did not move as he heard shouts from the guards who had run to take the woman hostage. His eyes glanced down at his watch; it would be 7:02 in ten seconds...seven...five...three...two...one...

There was a great outcry that moved throughout the whole crowd as Masuyo Yori swayed in place, and clutched her chest, and fell down, dead. The gun skittered away from her limp fingers, and the crowd pulled back, leaving a circle of empty space around her and the weapon. The guards who had been advancing stood frozen; Light stepped forward to the edge of the stage.

Immediately, the attention of everyone present was on him again.

"Are there others who would seek to destroy our chance at paradise? Is there another who would like to try to kill me?"

Light heard Misa's indrawn breath from across the stage, but he was not worried. After that obvious display of Kira's power, it was probable that very very few, if any, among the people now present doubted that he was Kira. At the same time, as far as they knew, he and this woman were complete strangers to each other who had never met before this moment. Even her companions were aware that he had only encountered her for the first time at that bus stop, completely by chance.

As he expected, he was answered by complete silence. Wave sounds dominated, and the occasional cry of seabirds. After a moment, he inclined his head.

"Good. This woman was not evil; her lack of belief in the truth of my presence is understandable, but her methods are not easy to forgive. Her life is in her own hands now; if her faith in Me is stronger than her darker nature, she will return."

There was a murmur in the crowd; the chant was returning now, and its pressure was more intense, the words sharper, harder, though softer in volume.

Light stepped across to the side of Takari; his blood was still seeping across the smooth wood of the stage-platform, and Light was careful not to step in it.

" As for you, my faithful servant, sacrificed for my sake – you, too, shall be tested. Succeed, and return to life, one of my Chosen, one of my Favored. Fail, and you will be condemned to Nothingness."

Takari's lifeless body had, of course, no answer; Light stepped backward slowly until he was at Misa's side. She had remained on her knees for some time, and had been startled to her feet by the sound of gunshots; now she was pleased enough to hold onto his arm and stand a little in front of him, glaring around defensively. Now more than ever she wished for shinigami eyes again, eyes that would give her power over anyone...but she had already halved her life twice. She had no way of knowing how much time was left, but a quarter of a normal lifespan – that was bad enough. An _eighth_...how much was that?

_Not much_.

She shivered a little, and pressed closer to Light. If he asked her to, she would do it – of course she would. But this time she would wait until he asked – after all, L was dead now, and probably N too...or he would be shortly. Swiftly, she found herself being pulled along to the back of the stage, and then behind the background curtain. Light spoke softly and quickly into her ear, and then released her with a little push in the direction of the hovering production manager.

"Misa, we have done enough for one night. Tell Kanzuka that we will return in the morning to speak to those of my followers who choose to remain; I am leaving him in charge of the actual vigil and he is _not_ to do anything other than guide candle lightings and prayers to Kira."

"Yes, Kira-sama."

She said it loud enough that Kanzuka could hear, and then approached him very fast. Light was pleased; her swift action reinforced that she brought his own words to Kanzuka's ears, and it gave him a few extra seconds to escape. He made his way to the very last trailer and pulled three keys from his obi; one opened the door, one unlocked a drawer in the desk, and the third unlocked the file shield in the drawer.

From inside he pulled out his bag, and his relief was extreme as he felt the Death Note still inside. It had been the greatest risk of the evening, leaving it here, but it had been necessary to bring it with him and he had been unable to find a better place to hide it. Kanzuka had ensured him with a fearful expression that he would have the only keys, and keeping it on his person was far too uncertain...and obvious. Swiftly, while he had the space and the opportunity, Light stripped out of the red yukata, pulled on unremarkable trousers and a pale blue button-down shirt, and packed his bag carefully – white yukata over red yukata wrapped around Death Note.

He watched out the window to make sure no one was watching as he slipped out. Misa was waiting at the border of the dunes where the parking lot started. He almost berated her for not bringing other clothes to change into, and then shrugged. Considering how many white-dressed people were about tonight, he was probably the conspicuous one...and she had done very well, after all.

"Misa, are you ready?"

"Yes – good, come with me, there's something I want to watch."

Misa wrinkled her nose, curious.

"A television show?"

Light's chuckle was low and dark; he was pulling her through the parking lot very quickly, so that she was half-running to keep up with his longer steps. They made it to a very quiet bus stop where not a soul was waiting, and not even a full minute later a bus pulled up and opened for them. Like the bus stop, it was silent, empty; the driver waited for a few seconds, but it was obvious no one else was coming and he drove off quickly enough.

Misa saw no reason not to continue their conversation; she wanted to know what TV show could be interesting enough to hold Light's attention.

"Light, what show do you want to watch so badly?"

Again, Light chuckled; it was not a pleasant sound.

"The American news will be broadcasting something I want to see at exactly twenty past seven. I'm sure you'll want to see it too, Misa."

"Something good?"

Her voice was eager, like a child's.

"Something _really_ good."

* * *

A/N: Ta-Da! I'm back! My last summer final was Saturday morning, and voila – a chapter ! You guys should feel lucky, you're the first to get one – all my other fics are still only chapters in progress. I have two weeks off before my new classes start (at least, I hope they start, registration can be a bitch) so I _may_, depending on how the muses treat me, get off one more chapter before then. Coming Soon: Four Dead Men and the end of N! Also, Getting Back the Death Notes! Much thanks to reviewers:

Zero Panda: Aha! And another update! More Near in the next chapter, I think...but it won't be pretty, oh no!

Umino-gaara: Thanks much, finals successfully passed (I hope, still one left to hear back about...)! Glad you like it; I really really try for original in my stories because it seems like so much fanfiction is just a reworking of the same stuff. I like to think of this more as a...continuation. Like, what really would have happened if the absolute worst thing hadn't always happened to Light, _always_! More soon!


	9. Chapter 9

IX.

The Dead

* * *

As they got off the bus at the stop nearest their apartment, Light let go of Misa's arm long enough to take a peek at his watch, and then smiled in satisfaction.

"Good, still six minutes...and it'll probably take a minute or two for whichever American network gets the story to hookup to the global monitors."

"Global...what exactly are you waiting for, Light? I thought there was something good you wanted to see, but you just want to watch American news?"

Light smiled a little and increased his pace; they rounded a corner and their apartment building came into view quickly.

"The American news is going to be showing the last actions of _N_, enemy of Kira...though the world will know him as _L_, of course. That isn't interesting enough for you, Misa?"

"Oh – yes! Yes, Misa will happily watch the end of _N, _especially since Light is sharing his moment of victory with Misa!"

She almost skipped the rest of the block home; only the thought of how ridiculous Kira's High Priestess would look doing such a thing restrained her. The streets had stayed unexpectedly quiet, and they passed like wraiths down silent sidewalks and past empty shops.

The lobby of their building was dim; overhead, only one of the bulbs in the hanging light fixture was still bright. The other flickered, occasionally sparking to full life only to fade away again almost immediately. Upstairs ,the apartment was waiting just as they had left it. Misa unlocked the door and disappeared into their bedroom; Light heard a rustle of fabric as she began to change clothes. He left his shoes by the door and wandered into the living room, turned on the television.

Immediately he was assaulted by a female voice that was speedily delivering a summary of the attempted assassination; with a yawn, he changed the channel a few times until he came to a more sedate reporter who appeared to be slightly more intelligent than his colleagues. At least he wasn't talking a mile a minute -

"...a_nd of course everything has been dropped tonight from every station in order to provide up-to-the-moment coverage of the extraordinary events taking place right here in Japan; Kira has finally revealed himself, and the revelation is taking the world by storm. I have beside me here a live shot, streamed to us by Sakura Television cameras that have been on the scene since the beginning – as you can see, Kira himself is no longer present, having left the area shortly after the attempt on his life, but we have now received information confirming the identities of those killed during the violence. _

_The hopeful assassin has been identified as one Masuyo Yori; friends of the young woman who accompanied her to this evening's vigil have surrounded her body and are preventing emergency services from examining or removing it, but it appears clear that she suffered a heart attack and dropped dead on the spot. No claim has been made, but it seems obvious that her death is the work of Kira. _

_The body of the man shot on stage as he moved in defense of Kira is known to be that of Takari Lin, who announced the death and resurrection of Kira this afternoon on Sakura Television's startling broadcast. As he was the only witness to the supposed resurrection of the world's most notorious individual, I'm sure many are disappointed to have witnessed Takari's death. However, in light of the statement made by Kira before he left the stage, in which he promised that the dead Takari was undergoing some kind of testing and might "...succeed, and return to life, one of My Chosen", a small group has surrounded the body on stage and have refused to give it up to emergency services...hang on...it looks like...it appears-_

_Yes, it appears that a few paramedics have forced their way through the crowd – they are checking the body of Takari Lin...we have confirmation, if anyone needed it, that the man is indeed dead as a result of the gunshot wound he suffered...something is happening...one of the paramedics has been thrown off the stage! The others are retreating. Some of the followers from the crowd appear to have set up a temporary altar for the body - just a moment...just a moment..._

_I'm receiving word that our sister station in New York, CBN, has been contacted by L, the world-famous detective best known for challenging Kira! Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be switching over to a live connection with CBN in just a few moments – I repeat, L, the most respected and successful private investigator in the world, has just appeared at CBN headquarters in New York to offer a live statement in person, and we are about to transfer our feed -"_

Light looked down at his watch; the second hand was just ticking past the start of another minute. 7:21; right on time. He heard Misa come out of the bedroom and pad towards the kitchen, open the refrigerator.

"Misa, it's starting -"

"Coming, Light!"

Hurriedly, Misa came running in and plopped down on her spot on the couch beside Light, scanning the screen eagerly. She had brought a bowl of fruit with her, mostly apples with a few peaches and oranges mixed in; immediately, Ryuk flapped his way over from his favorite corner and stared at the bowl with a hungry expression.

"Hey, Light -"

"Go right ahead, Ryuk, you earned them."

Grinning maniacally, Ryuk reached into the bowl and selected the reddest, most polished, juiciest looking fruit.

_Crunch!_

"Ahh...apples! So what's on the TV, Light?"

But Light ignored him, too focused on the television's shifting images to bother with a reply; Misa shushed the shinigami with a finger to her lips, and pointed at the small image of the news station's live connection to New York as it expanded to cover the whole screen.

"_Thank you, Ryouta, for that excellent introduction. I'm Taylor Schulmann, live in New York with the antagonist of the hour – L himself. Our station has made absolutely sure that the person we are about to present is, in fact, L. He has requested a few minutes to speak to the world; L, are you ready?"_

The camera zoomed out and revealed a young, white-haired young man sitting beside the news anchor. He was staring fixedly in front of him; he had dressed haphazardly in a white button-down shirt and a pair of loose khaki pants that were visible because he had crossed his legs in the wheeled desk chair, assuming a position which seemed humanly impossible.

On the couch, Misa narrowed her eyes at the televised _N_ as she selected a peach and took a particularly vicious bite. Light watched her out of the corner of his eye, amused by her anger.

"_Yes, Mr. Schulmann, I am prepared."_

Once again, the camera shifted focus, cutting out the face of the TV anchor and focusing on the pale, impassive features of Nate River, currently recognized as _L_.

"_Citizens of America and the world, I, like the rest of you, was surprised to find that this evening's broadcast from Japan was not a hoax; Kira has revealed himself, and I believe it is only appropriate that I do the same. I am L. In light of the events of the last twenty-four hours and the changes those events are likely to bring to all of mankind, it is necessary that I make certain statements which seem to be long overdue. _

_First, in regards to the claims made by Yagami Light: he is, in fact, Kira. At 8:17 pm three days ago, a small group led by myself intercepted Kira in cooperation with a secret unit inside the Japanese police. In the course of our altercation, Kira suffered six gunshot wounds; he was declared dead at 8:53 pm that same evening. In order to protect the individuals involved, as well as to prevent a spree of criminal activity, this information was concealed from the public and the Kira investigation was closed._

_We acted against Kira because a human being has no right to take the lives of so many others into his own hands; mass vengeance is not an appropriate reaction to the crimes of our fellows. A human being, I say...and yet the evidence now is that Yagami Light became Kira with the help of the divine; I cannot argue with the judgment of God._

_It is because of this that I must now offer my apologies to Kira. I retract all opposition to him; I remove myself from his path. The floors dedicated to the Kira investigation in the building at 57 Carras Place will be evacuated; all pertinent information will be destroyed, and the team that worked on the case has already been disbanded, confidentiality agreements in place. _

_There is but one more thing I can do; in penance – in the name of Kira!_"

Light leaned forward eagerly in his seat, his eyes flickering impatiently to his watch. The second hand ticked over to 7:25. On screen, _N_ reached down by his feet, lifted a backpack and removed from it a small container. Before anyone around him could move, he dumped clear liquid over his head. There was a splash as some of it hit the floor – and then fire!

Red and orange flames vaulted eagerly from the spark of a lighter in _N_'s fingers to the soaked sleeve of his shirt; quickly, the fire consumed, leaping, skipping, running in threads and gouts across his clothes and exposed flesh, crisping away his hair – within thirty seconds he was utterly engulfed. There were audible shrieks from the news station, but none of them came from the young man who had immolated himself. From within the fire came words, high-pitched and piercing, fueled by gasping, eerie whines of breath.

"_Hear me now, you who have stood silent in the face of many evils, greater and lesser, affecting many and affecting few! You who have brought a hand heavy with power down on the backs of many unfortunates; you who have made promises and have not kept them; you who have set down a cup overflowing with evils, with disasters and wars of profit; you who have let the ranks of the hungry, the ill, the weak, the miserable, the despairing and the destitute swell until those ranks made up an army! You, who have done these things - you are Judged! Justice shall be done upon you - the Justice of Kira!_"

Finally, on that last, exultant word, his voice faded into a scream. _N_ crumpled in on himself; the news anchor's desk caught fire, and only then, finally, did a pattern of vertical colored bars replace the terrible scene. After a moment, the screen flashed back to the original station broadcast, and the first anchor who had been on the screen was back, looking very shaken.

"_Due to the distressing and graphic nature of the images being shown, we have been forced to take them off the air. For anyone just tuning in, it...it appears that the investigator L, who represented the __greater part of the opposition to Kira, has just delivered an apology and...and burned himself to death __on live global television._

_On behalf of the network, I would like to apologize to anyone disturbed by those images -"_

But Light had stopped listening; Misa was giggling uncontrollably in his lap, and he could not hold back his own, somewhat more manic laughter. It was still early in the evening on the first day of his resurrected life, and he had revealed himself and destroyed his opposition all in one fell swoop.

"Light, Light, did you see – he just went _whoosh!_ And his hair – ahahaha! – it went up like a match, and then he was burning bald! B-b-burning bald!"

Light nodded his head and let out a little chuckle, but raised his eyebrows. He had wondered if seeing someone burn alive – something obviously painful and torturous – might have any effect on Misa. It was infinitely different being aware that the person you were killing was dead; looking at their body, hearing their screams, seeing their blood, their pain – he had learned that himself early on.

_Obviously, I underestimated her. I wonder..._

"Misa, would you like to read the Deaths I wrote for tonight?"

Immediately, Misa was up on her feet, and then down on her knees in front of him, hands clasped together.

"Oh yes, Misa _definitely _wants to read it! Did Kira-sama get rid of _everyone_ who was bad?"

"Yes, all of them."

Misa pouted slightly.

"Even Matsu-kun? He was a good manager - he could have done that again and been even better, since he wouldn't have to worry about trying to catch my Light!"

Light's expression darkened slightly.

"Misa, did they tell you how I was killed?"

Misa shook her head.

"Misa was told _something_, but not the truth. Without remembering the Death Note, it was impossible for me to know that my Light was Kira-sama, and so I didn't ask questions when they said it was Kira who k-killed you..."

Misa's lip trembled, and Light patted her cheek affectionately, drew a finger across her lips.

"I'm alive; don't worry about it. Would you like to know the truth, or would it upset you?"

Her brow creased for a moment, and then she nodded.

"Misa wants to know."

"I was lured to a warehouse after Mikami Teru allowed his Death Note to be stolen. There, _N_, his SPK, and the four remaining members of the anti-Kira task force led me to my death. Matsuda shot me six times, Misa."

She drew in a sharp breath and words escaped her explosively, both furious and apologetic.

"Matsu-kun! How could he! Misa is sorry, Light, so sorry, Misa did not know that Matsu-kun killed you -"

"He didn't, Misa, but I'm glad you see why I didn't spare any of them. No, in the end, Ryuk wrote my name in his Death Note...for which I will forever be grateful."

Misa had gotten up angrily, staring in Ryuk's direction, as soon as Light mentioned his name. Ryuk looked up at her briefly and then descended on his third apple with a resounding _crunch!_

Light ignored her momentarily and looked back over his shoulder at the shinigami.

"Looks like Misa's mad at you Ryuk."

Dark shoulders shrugged.

"Don't care. How many more apples are there, Light?"

Light peered into the bowl.

"...Two."

"Only two? Are there any markets open around here?"

Angrily, Misa stomped a foot, interrupting their banter.

"Wait a minute! Light, you just said that Ryuk – that he killed you!"

"Yes, Misa; but I'm glad he did that. He resurrected me too, you know. I showed you the Eraser -"

She paused for a moment, considering.

"That is true. But – but – Misa did not like it while her Light was dead. Bad shinigami!"

Ryuk blinked in surprise at Misa's finger, shaking in his direction. This made two humans that weren't afraid of him; would wonders never cease?

_Crunch!_

"Light, this woman is crazy, you know. Toss me one of those apples, would ya?"

Light's laughter filled the apartment again; the apple soared through the air, and Ryuk caught it with a grin. Carefully, he shined it on his chest and then held it up in front of his face. His reflection was distorted in the shiny peel, made more grotesque than usual; the apple gleamed redly with reflected light from the television.

They were replaying a much-censored version of the earlier incident with _N._ Light watched for a moment, then stood and grabbed his bag, disentangled the Death Note from its yukata wrapping.

"Here, Misa."

She gripped the thin black notebook with reverent hands; her fingers trembled with barely suppressed glee.

"I'm going to shower now; I haven't felt clean since I...woke up. We will go out tonight, Misa."

He tossed a glance over his shoulder as he started down the hall towards the bathroom, and caught her shining gaze.

"I'm sure you can think of a place?"

She nodded fervently, and Light padded down the hallway. Misa returned her attention to the notebook in her hands, unaware that her eyes took on a gleam reminiscent of _Kira-sama_ as she stroked the cover lovingly, then opened it and flipped through to find the right page.

* * *

In quiet, in utter silence, the four remaining members of the anti-Kira task force sat together around the television, their eyes wide with horror. Each of their thoughts was replaying the last moments of _N_; each of them knew exactly what had happened, why their one-time ally had sacrificed himself in the name of his staunch enemy.

"It's...it's unbelievable. I can't...even with the Death Note - "

Matsuda's voice broke the silence into little pieces. Aizawa shook his head slowly, almost shrugged and then thought better of it.

"We knew it was possible. All those deaths by heart attack weren't the only ones he was responsible for, there were many, many accidents – and those "experiments" with control at the very beginning, remember? Prisoners drawing pentagrams, leaving messages..."

"_I_ still can't get over the fact that we trusted him, let him lead us -"

Mogi shuddered, remembering; the other three nodded in agreement, and they returned to their silent sitting for another minute, their eyes trained on the television screen. Matsuda watched the others through his peripheral vision. The longer they stayed alive, the better their chances were, but at the same time the weight of each minute ticking by was almost unbearable.

As it turned out, he didn't have long to wait after all. The numbers on the clock flashed from 7:29 to 7:30. Ide made a strangled sound, clutched at his chest, and fell out of his chair.

"Ide!"

Three voices called out as one. Ide took one long, strained breath, and then was still. Matsuda let out a startled sound and reached out, far too late, for his dead friend. Mogi's face crumpled and then took on a stolid expression; Aizawa was silent for a moment, his features stony, and then he took a deep breath.

"Well, we don't know who's next, or when. But it has been an honor to work with you – _all _of you."

Aizawa's eyes lingered on Ide's body for a moment, and then turned to Matsuda. In that same moment, Mogi toppled to the floor, dragging in a heaving breath. It was his last.

Matsuda and Aizawa locked eyes. A minute passed, and then Aizawa leaned back, as if he were stretching. After a moment he crumpled forward, his arms crossing over his legs, his face pressed against his knees.

"A-Aizawa? Aizawa?"

After another moment or so, Aizawa's body ceased defying gravity and fell to join the bodies of Ide and Mogi on the floor. Matsuda sat alone in the room full of death, and waited. It was not long before he felt a startling pain in his heart, a tightening, a single jagged beat that he could not escape.

* * *

Far away, in an all but deserted building, another group, this one two men and a woman, lay in similar distorted positions on the ground. They had watched in horror as their leader sacrificed himself in the name of their enemy. There was nothing they could do, but they knew who was responsible. Each of them had come here with the same thought in mind; find the Death Notes, destroy them, keep them out of Kira's hands!

It was unfortunate for them that Light was too clever to have forgotten them; none of them made it past the security entrance on the second floor. The three bodies lay sprawled in a semi-circle, their legs overlapping.

In a room deep within the the maze-like complex, a hundred television screens flickered and the room around them sputtered in the blue glare.

The Death Notes sat waiting.

* * *

A/N: And the first step of Light's victory is complete! Coming soon: Kira's Night Out and Revelations from the Resurrected! LEP-Surface Division: Wow! Thanks for such a great review! Hopefully this chapter is up to snuff :D Also, Kleptographer of Alternates: Sorry it takes me so long, but the real world is a pain in the ass! As far as resurrections goes, I decided to put them off a little bit. Otherwise, people observing might have assumed that they never really died; this way, the deaths are confirmed and its more of a 'definite miracle'. Thanks for the reviews, though, they're always inspiring!

Please, Read and Review!


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